


Singularity

by NorthernGhost



Series: Living Systems [3]
Category: Horizon: Zero Dawn (Video Game)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-15
Updated: 2020-01-06
Packaged: 2020-06-28 15:24:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 26
Words: 181,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19815091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NorthernGhost/pseuds/NorthernGhost
Summary: Although the immediate threat of HADES and the Eclipse have been stopped, peace is only momentary. Aloy has barely survived the struggle, physically, but her mind may not have been so lucky.  No closer to understanding her bond with Elisabet Sobeck, and with the best hopes of rebuilding GAIA and the various subfunctions still buried beneath the Earth, the race to piece it all together has begun. What she discovers in the process, however, is unlike anything she could have imagined... or feared.





	1. I'll See You Where the Sun Sets

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to Part 3 of the _Living Systems_ trilogy.
> 
> So here we are. 
> 
> From relatively early on into writing _Duality_ , I came up with the idea of telling this broader story arc in three main installments. The names were all planned out with this in mind, as well. With that in mind, this is planned to be the final installment in this main story, as of right now. I'm not discounting the idea of potentially adding on side stories/one-offs/"DLC" style stories in the future, however, but they would not be integral to the main plot of this main arc (i.e. this ain't no Kingdom Hearts).
> 
> With each story in this series, however, I wanted to do something a little different, while still keeping the core aspects of it familiar. For this story, you may want to take note of a small hint in the summary to figure out how I plan for it to bring something new to the collection...
> 
> Lastly, before we get started, I want to offer a huge thanks to anyone who has read all the way from the _Duality_ 'till now, whether that was from when I was just posting that original fic, or whether you have jumped on along the way and are still along for the ride. I hope this ending to the story arc does the rest justice, and provides a satisfying conclusion, even if it may not entirely be what people expected.
> 
> To quote a particular character from the game, "All I can say at this juncture is... trust me."
> 
> That's enough stalling. It's time.
> 
> This is _Singularity_.

All feeling of a bustling city seemed to have been sucked out of the streets of Sunfall; what few citizens that moved about did so under the stern, careful watch of the Kestrels in their ornate, crimson armor. A line of them stood at the entrance to the city, forming an impassable barricade of steel and flesh that clearly conveyed a message of hostility to any who still bothered to approach. A line of merchants, traders, and others who could only be bounty hunters stood waiting their turn to approach the two Kestrels who questioned and searched each new arrival.  


Many of those who stood farther back in the line shuffled about impatiently, wiping the sweat from their brows under the unrelenting midday sun. The stone walkway that ran alongside a sheer cliff of red rock did little to reduce the sweltering heat, but so far none had fainted.  


The line moved rather slowly, as the Kestrels spent a good deal of time questioning each person who approached, as well as searching their person. One was turned away as he had forgotten to mention one item in his pack of wares, which one of the two guards had subsequently dumped on the stone walkway before tossing the empty bag to him and informing him that his inventory was incorrect.  


Finally, after letting through a bounty hunter dressed in Oseram armor and sporting an eyepatch, the Kestrel turned back to the dark-haired woman who had approached him next. He eyed her up and down once before clearing his throat.  


“State your business in Sunfall.”  


Her words in response were lost to the distance between us, but she maintained her posture under his roving glare.  


The kestrel nodded slowly, looking the woman up and down, once again, taking in her outfit of tanned leather and furs accentuated with a good amount of metal plating on her torso and some on her skirt, all of which mostly covered by a brown cloak that looked as if it had seen its fair share of seasons under the desert sun. Her appearance certainly spoke of a Nora exile, complete with her hair tied into braids that had been pulled back into a bun shape behind her head, save for one that hung loose over her right shoulder, a teal bead affixed to the end of it.  


“Present your weapons.”  


The woman removed a bow from over her shoulders, as well as a hunting knife and her quiver with several types of arrows from under her cloak. The two Kestrels looked all of the items over before glancing at each other and nodding.  


“What is your name?”  


Again, her response was lost, only the general sound of her voice making it to my ears. The Kestrel closest to her suddenly shoved her weapons into her chest, though, prompting her to double over slightly at the force.  


“Head to the Citadel for today’s bounties.”  


She gripped her weapons securely before looking up at the man and nodding. With that, she slipped past him and moved toward the entrance to the looming city gate behind them, carefully returning her weapons to their places on her person as she went.  


I watched her go for a moment or two before one of the Kestrels cleared his throat.  


“Next!”  


The next several merchants all presented their packs and tried to keep their composure as best they could, however several failed and were turned away by the smirking Kestrels, who did all manner of embarrassing maneuvers to them, including dumping their bags on the walkway, or even cutting the rope belt about one’s waist so that his trousers fell around his ankles. This one in particular seemed to amuse the Kestrels, who howled with laughter. I even caught sight of a few of the men in the line at the city gate, itself, trying to contain their laughter.  


Finally, I stood next in line, watching the latest merchant and his two young children shuffle away, the fearful look in the daughter’s eyes bringing a tight feeling to my stomach.  


“Next!”  


With a slow, deep breath in through my nose, I stepped up to them, coming to a short stop only a foot or two away. The Kestrel immediately before me frowned, leaning forward slightly.  


“Remove your hood, outlander.”  


I carefully reached toward the front of the hood to my dark, worn cloak and did as he asked. Once it was around my neck, I shook my head slightly, trying to get some rebel strands of hair out of my face.  


He studied me for a moment or two in silence before his gaze ran over the rest of me, taking in the teal, yellow, and white Carja silks mixed with some fine metal plating on my legs and torso that bore a much stronger resemblance to Oseram craftsmanship. Finally, he seemed satisfied as he nodded slowly.  


“State your business in Sunfall.”  


“Mercenary, looking for bounties.”  


He nodded slowly, although his gaze had returned to my face. One cheek slowly sucked in between his teeth as he studied me closely for several more long seconds.  


“What’s your name, outlander?”  


“Miriam.”  


Confusion creased the Kestrel’s face.  


“Where do you hail from?”  


“The West.”  


“Where in the west?”  


“A city named Carson, far into the desert.”  


The Kestrel eyed me warily for several moments before clearing his throat.  


“Present your weapons.”  


I handed over my bow, my spear, my sling, my quiver of arrows, and my pouch with small bombs for the sling. The two Kestrels looked them over for several moments before the one to my left noticed something on my spear and flipped it around.  


“What’s this?” he asked, gesturing to the metal cylinder attached to the end.  


“A module taken from a machine that allows me particularly efficient tracking.”  


They exchanged glances before the one on the left shrugged.  


“Sounds handy.”  


“It certainly can be.”  


With that, they gathered my weapons, once again, and thrust them toward me, as they had done with the woman before me.  


“Proceed to the Citadel for today’s bounties.”  


I nodded shortly and slipped past them, moving quickly toward the line of Kestrels at the city’s gate. As I approached, two of them stepped back, allowing me to pass between. Once inside, I headed to my right, stopping beside a set of stairs and carefully beginning to place my weapons back on my person.  


Once they were stored properly, I moved around the banister and made my way up the short set of stairs to the main street level of Sunfall. Once again, I was struck by how desolate the entire place seemed, particularly compared to what I remembered from the last time I was here. No longer were there signs of merchants set up about the streets, peddling weapons and other wares, and men and women in the darker, modified look of the Carja nobles strolling about. There were, however, just as many Kestrels, or perhaps even more, at attention on each street corner or performing training displays in large numbers in any open space they could find.  


Perhaps many of the citizens had fled after Helis’s failed campaign.  


I turned my attention away from the third party of demonstrating Kestrels I had come across, already, and back to the present as I moved toward the towering stone structure ahead of me. When I finally crested another set of stairs, I found myself on a wide stone dais with Kestrels lining the outer edge while several other Outlanders milled about the space. One in particular drew my attention and I casually approached the dark-haired woman leaning against the railing that overlooked the Sun Ring.  


“First time in Sunfall?”  


She glanced toward me briefly as I came to a stop beside her, resting my elbows on the stone barricade, as well.  


“Yeah. Not what I was expecting.”  


“How so?”  


“I don’t know, less murdering of children and burning of effigies?”  


A smirk tugged at my lips as I glanced over at her.  


“They all seem so normal here…” she continued, “well, whoever’s left… and except the Kestrels, that is.”  


“It’s easy to forget that others can live lives just like yours, sometimes.”  


She let out a short, dry laugh as she shook her head.  


“It’s hard to forget what they’re capable of, though.”  


My lips pulled into a thin line as I turned back to the Sun Ring below. The structure that had previously hung over the center of the large, open space now lay in a pile of rubble that seemed to only have been half-cleared. The wall along one side, leading out into the open desert beyond, also appeared to have gone unrepaired, for the time being, although several Kestrels stood guard in the opening.  


“Whoever did that sure as an affinity for the grand.”  


I blinked several times before glancing over at the woman beside me.  


“The hole, that is.”  


I gave her a smirk and she laughed softly. With that, I turned to stand with my back to the railing, folding my arms over my chest.  


“I almost didn’t recognize you with all that in your hair,” she said quietly.  


I gingerly reached up to run my fingertips along the side of my single, tight braid. My lips twisted into a slight grimace at the incredibly greasy feeling under them and where it moved against my neck and I shivered.  


“It would be too easy to recognize, otherwise,” I said, “and I knew they wouldn’t let me leave the hood on.”  


“Good thing that P— _she_ —had all that… whatever it was.”  


“Grease, or oil… I’m hoping.”  


Just then, a loud voice boomed across the courtyard.  


“Outlanders! If you want to hear about today’s bounties, head for the throne room!”  


The group milling about before us suddenly perked up, rushing down the short pathway to the looming building that must have been the main part of the Citadel.  


“You’re not going to make any shards by standing out here!”  


The dark-haired woman suddenly slipped past me, jogging after the others. With a sigh, I pushed off the railing and followed, but at a slower pace. As I watched her go, I noted the slight limp in her left leg, and my lips pulled to one side. I had a feeling that the mere thought of an injury slowing her down must kill her.  


I could completely understand it.  


My hand absentmindedly ran over my left side, still not entirely used to the lack of immediate pain from the touch, but that didn’t stop a bit of soreness from creeping in any time I stretched or exerted myself a little too much, though. Every morning, I had to stretch out my shoulders or else by midday I could feel the tight knots forming in them. All of it was so strange and foreign…  


Look at me, already moaning like an old woman.  


With that, I shook my head, setting foot on the first step toward the entrance to the throne room. Just as I did, however, I heard a voice muttering to my right and I hesitated for a moment.  


“Filthy mercenary bottom-feeders…”  


I spared a glance toward the man in the dark robes who had ordered everyone inside to find him shaking his head, folding his arms over his chest. The Kestrel beside him chuckled softly and my lips drew into a thin line.  


I’d been called worse.  


Just then, the man in the robes seemed to notice me lingering and scowled in my direction.  


“What are you waiting around for, outlander? Bounties are announced inside!”  


I paused for a moment, staring back at him, before I changed my mind and turned to hurry up the steps into the main building ahead of me. Once inside, I found myself in a massive hallway, the ceilings stretching to yards above my head while stone columns with ornate designs ran from the floor to them; everything was made of stone, although whichever kind had been used for the columns was a much darker shade than that of the main building, itself. As I passed one, I took in how the designs seemed reminiscent of the inner workings of a machine, the small shapes and intricate, weaving lines created with a shimmering, metallic golden paint, and gently ran my fingers over one of them. I glanced up toward the ceiling, one last time, before trotting down the short set of stairs to the tall, looming doorway at the bottom.  


A voice was already echoing out from the even more cavernous room beyond, but at the sound of my approaching footsteps it paused. I rounded the small bannister that lined the central, raised platform, before ascending the few steps onto it.  
A man in black robes with bright red trim and wearing one of the largest, most ornate headpieces I had ever seen stared back at me. His face was barely visible, but I could just make out enough to see his lips curled into a scowl. As I came to a stop behind the other outlanders and folded my arms over my chest, he cleared his throat and raised one hand, once again.  


“By the glory of the sun revealed!”  


His gesture swept over the gathered crowd as he began to pace across the small, raised stage at the far side of the larger platform.  


“Behold! Radiant Itamen, the one true Sun King—”  


My gaze travelled up from the man shouting proclamations to the top of a massive stone throne that stood a good yard or two above us, its front adorned with the metal symbol of the Shadow Carja, an ornate design that seemed to feature some kind of bird rising from a fire beneath it. At the top of the throne, however, I paused, my eyebrows raising slightly as I took in who I could only guess was Itamen.  


“—the light in shadow, whose will is light and whose light is law!”  


A boy, no more than six years old or so, rose to his feet at the urging of the woman behind him. He most definitely had the appearance of a child attempting to imitate an adult, but by how I saw the tips of his “crown” shake and tremble, I had a feeling that it wasn’t his choice.  


“I command Lucent Bahavas to speak on my behalf.”  


The boy’s voice was barely audible to the crowd below, but the robed man immediately bowed, dipping his head low enough that I thought his ridiculous headpiece might fall off, but unfortunately it remained firmly in place as he rose to a standing position, once again.  


“By the will of Radiant Itamen does the sun glare down mercilessly upon the traitor, Uthid!”  


As soon as the man began speaking, once again, the boy hurried back from the edge of the throne and fell into the waiting arms of the woman behind him, quickly burying his face against her bosom as she securely wrapped her arms around him. My jaw began to clench as my fingers tightened around the fabric of my cloak for a moment or two before I forced them to relax.  


“To the hunter who brings his head to us shall go a bounty of 500 shards!”  


The man continued to talk, but I wasn’t interested in whatever else he had to say, so I tuned him out, instead casting my gaze about the room. Sylens had been bringing me this direction before, pretending that I was his bounty or slave of some sort, so there had to be a reason. No glaring signs of an entrance to an ancient science facility leapt out at me, but I quickly found myself wishing I was actually able to use my Focus. That would need to remain in its pouch on my belt, for now.  


They knew the girl with the small, metal device too well.  


Finally, the man let out one last proclamation before the crowd let out a short, but resounding cheer. I jumped slightly at the sound, whirling around only to find the various outlanders beginning to dissipate and mill about the room. Many of them began conversing like old friends, but several stuck to themselves around the outer edges, including one who I recognized as a former Nora.  


Now that we were free to wander, apparently, I began to casually stroll along the outer edge of the large, raised platform, taking in the ornate carvings in the walls of the throne room. They were certainly remarkable, I had to admit, but something about the gold trim and the dark stone only reminded me of burnt, log cabins and lodges and I quickly turned away.  


As my gaze swept over the crowd, I caught sight of a dark head of braids following a group of other outlanders as they made their way toward a set of open doorways to my left. I began to follow after, glancing out the openings to see some kind of large balcony, lit by the bright, burning light of the sun overhead. As I descended the steps slowly behind them all, I realized that this was the perch upon which Helis had stood as he declared to the entire Sun Ring below how I would be the first sacrifice to his Buried Shadow that would start the rise of the Eclipse and the Shadow Carja’s “glory” once again.  


Funny how none of that worked out that way in the end.  


My jaw clenched as I came to a stop against the bannister at the end of the balcony, leaning against the waist-high wall and gripping it tightly on either side of me as I stared down at the massive, stone circle beneath us. As I blinked, the image was replaced by the same structure, although it was now partially clouded by blowing sands; a few small pinpricks of light shone from one side, and I could have sworn I heard some kind of synthetic voice in my ear, but just before I could look around further, I blinked and the midday scene of the Sun Ring returned.  


Something bumped my elbow and I quickly whirled to my left, expecting one of the Kestrels to be confronting me, but instead I found one of the other outlanders, the one with the Oseram armor and the eyepatch, recoiling from my sudden motion.  


“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you girl,” he laughed. “I don’t think I’ve seen you on one of these bounty hunts before, so I wanted to introduce myself.”  


I nodded shortly, letting a heavy breath through my nose.  


“Well, what’s your name? I’m Odund.”  


I tried to speak, but my throat had gone dry, so I quickly swallowed and cleared it.  


“Miriam”  


“Now that’s not a name I’ve heard around here. What tribe are you from?”  


“One from the West.”  


“From the Forbidden West? Well, fire and spit I look forward to seeing you on the hunt. I imagine there’ll finally be some competition.”  


The man laughed, resting his hands on the straps of his armor as I nodded slowly, my lips pulling into a thin line.  


“Now, is it a custom of your tribe to wear Shellwalker grease in your hair like that?”  


I suddenly froze, my heart pounding in my ears, for several moments before I forced myself to relax my posture and respond.  


“I could recognize the smell of it anywhere, and by the fire of the forge I nearly thought we were set up for a trap when I caught wind of it in the throne room, there.”  


“Yeah, it’s… something like that.”  


Before he could say anything else, I quickly slipped by him and ignored whatever he called after me. I glanced around the balcony, one last time, before turning to head up the stairs to the throne room, once again. Just as I was about halfway to the top, however, my eyes caught sight of something to my right and I focused in on it without turning my head. Part of the balustrade was broken right near the top, leaving a gap that overlooked the long drop to an area that appeared to be just behind the wall of the Sun Ring.  


“No way…”  


I glanced over my shoulder to see that the Outlanders were no longer paying me any attention, all of them too wrapped up in conversation and looking out on the Sun Ring, before also glancing toward the entrance to the throne room, once again. The Kestrels stood with their backs to the open doorway, remaining as still as possible with their pikes held stiffly at their sides.  


No one was paying me any attention.  


I slipped over to the hole in the railing, glancing around one more time before peering over the edge. Only a yard or two below sat another, small balcony, but this one didn’t have any Kestrels standing guard, and the only entrance onto it appeared to be a closed door… other than the one I had just found, that is.  


My palms were slick with cold sweat as I casually turned in place, glancing first toward the entrance to the throne room, before turning back to the far end of the balcony. Only one of the Outlanders standing at the end was looking my direction, and we immediately made eye contact. I nodded shortly to the braided, dark-haired woman before turning and carefully dropping over the ledge, holding on to the lip until I had stretched my feet as far as I could.  


With a deep breath, I let go and dropped the remaining yard or so before landing in a crouch. A slight twinge of pain appeared in my side, but I simply rubbed at it absentmindedly before straightening up and glancing around the new balcony. My eyes quickly focused on a set of tall, narrow rocks that rose from part of the cliff face beside the Citadel, all of them making a path that led to said sheer rock wall nearby. All of it was so… convenient.  


This had to be wrong… right?  


Just then, a sharp hiss above me drew my attention and I whirled around, looking up toward the broken banister I had dropped down from moments ago, only to find the dark-haired woman smirking down at me.  


“Move out of the way,” she hissed.  


I moved a few steps backward before she glanced around and quickly dropped over the edge, as well. When she landed, she staggered slightly on her left side and put her hands out against the stone wall before her to brace herself. I started to move forward to offer a steadying hand, but paused as I thought better of it, my lips pulling into a thin line. A moment later, however, she rose to her feet with a quiet groan, shaking her leg slightly as she did.  


As she turned around, her grimace quickly turned into a smirk, or at least as close to one as she could manage.  


“I guess this is where the physical part starts, huh?” she said quietly.  


“Would seem so. You ready for that?”  


She shot me an admonishing look as I grinned and gestured to the rock formations past the opening in the railing from this lower balcony. Her expression quickly changed as she raised her eyebrows, bracing her hands on her hips.  


“Well that’s convenient.”  


“I thought so, too. Do you think it’s… _too_ convenient?”  


She stared at the path, her eyes tracing across the tips of the rock formations before moving down the cliff face, itself. Finally, she shrugged, looking over at me.  


“We’ve come this far already.”  


My lips pulled into a thin line for a moment before I nodded.  


“Let’s keep going, then.”  


She gestured for me to go ahead and I turned to the opening in the railing, rubbing my hands together.  


“Done something like this tons of times… no problem…”  


With a deep breath, I rushed toward the lip of the balcony. My foot pressed against the edge of the stone construction, using it as leverage to launch myself forward and into the open air. My other foot immediately sought out the top of the nearest rock formation, the world seeming to slow to a crawl as I carefully positioned myself to hopefully not slide right off and fall the hundred or so feet to my death.  


A moment later, my foot made contact with the top of the formation, finding that its surface was actually much wider than I had expected, but I still quickly shifted my weight to push off it, as I had done with the balcony a moment ago. I followed this pattern until I found myself leaping off the final tall, narrow rock formation and reaching toward the lip of a wider, rocky outcropping set into the cliff ahead of me. My hands wrapped around the lip and I quickly pulled myself onto it, grunting slightly as I clambered to a kneeling position.  


A quick glance back toward the balcony showed my companion giving me an impressed look before glancing up at the main balcony we had originally snuck away from, but no one had appeared at the opening in the railing to watch us. I waved for her to follow before eying the path of small, rocky outcroppings that could make good handholds and footholds leading down to the sandy ground far below. As I saw her charging across the tall rocks, like I had, I quickly reached out to the nearest hold I had spotted and stepped off the wider surface I had been resting on so far.  


I hung in place from the wall until the other woman came to a stop on the same platform, kneeling beside me.  


“You made that look easy.”  


“You weren’t so bad at it, yourself,” I shot back.  


She rolled her eyes and gestured toward the ground below.  


“Get moving, _Miriam_.”  


“Okay… what did you say your name was, again?”  


She grinned as I began to descend the rock wall, taking extra care to test each foothold before putting my weight on it. Finally, after what felt like an eternity where I couldn’t check to see if anyone had seen us, my feet touched down on the sandy ground and I stepped away from the wall, brushing my hands off on my cloak as I glanced up toward the balcony high above. No alarmed shouts or angry voices echoed down toward us, so I assumed we had gone unnoticed so far.  


“Worst guards, ever…”  


I turned around at the sound of another pair of feet hitting the ground behind me and found my companion also brushing her hands off on her cloak.  


“So… where to now?”  


I frowned slightly, glancing around.  


“We’re looking for something that could be an entrance…”  


The space we had found ourselves in was rather claustrophobic, with the rock walls of the cliff face pressing in rather closely against the outer edge of the Sun Ring. Almost immediately, my gaze fell on the side of the nearby, metal column that made part of the raised structure atop the Sun Ring, the one that had previously held the sacrificial cage. What drew my attention wasn’t the structure, itself, but the haphazard wooden grating leaning up against it.  


“You mean like that?”  


I nodded, leading the way over to the wooden paneling before coming to a stop and carefully searching the outer edges.  


“Think it’s a trap?”  


“You never know…”  


I quickly reached into one of the pouches on my belt and pulled out a small, metal device. As I slipped the Focus beside my right ear, the interface sprung to life around me, the familiar web of blue and purple lines and numbers forming a small orb around me, but more importantly, it began to identify things in the environment. The Focus easily picked up the wooden grating, as well as an opening labelled as some kind of vent behind it, but gave no clear indications of bombs or other such traps.  


“Seems safe…”  


“You trust that thing?”  


I glanced over at my companion to see her giving me an apprehensive look. With a smirk, I reached up toward the device, tapping the side of it to close the interface.  


“Saved my life a few times before.”  


She didn’t look much more convinced, but shrugged and gestured to the makeshift doorway.  


“You first, Aloy.”  


I raised my eyebrows at her.  


“I thought we weren’t using real names until we were outside of Sunfall?”  


“You think anyone is around to hear us, right now?”  


“If you say so, Talanah.”  


She rolled her eyes before stepping toward the wood paneling before us.  


“Since you’re stalling so much…”  


She moved to one side of the outer panel, feeling along the edge before frowning slightly.  


“It’s secured to the main part of the structure,” she said. “We’re not going to be able to just pull it off.”  


“Good thing we have something more than our bare hands,” I said, grinning.  


She glanced back toward me as I pulled Sylens’ lance free from behind me, gripping it securely in both hands as Talanah stepped aside. I carefully examined the panel, noting how two vertical pieces of wood were visible running down either side of the back, so I slid the tip of the blade into the side, between the vertical supports and the horizontal slats on the front. With enough pressure, I was able to pry a good deal of the vertical support away from the front paneling. After applying pressure to two more points, the wooden structure began to come apart, one of its main supports no longer attached.  


I gestured for Talanah to move aside, once again, and slipped past her to do the same on the opposite side. A minute or so later, the wood panels lay in a heap on the ground before the short narrow entrance into the vent behind it.  


“Nice work,” Talanah said, kicking some of the boards out of the way. “My best idea was to blow it up, so this was probably better, in the long run.”  


I rolled my eyes at her.  


“That was my second idea, if this didn’t work.”  


“Glad we’re sort of on the same page, at least.”  


With that, I stashed the lance behind me, once again, and crouched before the opening we had created. It was incredibly narrow, but seemed large enough for a person to fit through. What lay beyond was almost entirely pitch black, however, making it almost impossible to guess what it actually was.  


“So… who goes first?” Talanah asked, kneeling beside me.  


I gave her a look and she smirked.  


“I vote you.”  


With a sigh, I tapped the side of my Focus, bringing it to life and quickly activating the Low Light Mode before inching closer to the opening. Now that every surface was outlined in a glowing, white outline, I could see that the vent was apparently a vertical shaft that very quickly dropped off deep into the ground below.  


“Looks like it’s a pretty good drop,” I remarked.  


“How far?”  


“We’ll need to rappel.”  


“I was afraid of that…”  


“Wouldn’t be a very secure bunker if it was just barely below the surface, would it?”  


Talanah sighed, shaking her head as I grinned at her.  


“Okay, sure, take the logical stance.”  


With that, I quickly removed the rope from my belt and tied it around one of the metal support bars that criss-crossed inside the column, making sure that the hook at the end of it was securely held in place around the rope with several sharp tugs before glancing back over my shoulder.  


“Well, here we go.”  


With that, I carefully sat on the edge of the hole, taking a deep breath before pushing off and into the open air. Immediately, I felt my stomach flip as I began to fall, but I quickly wrapped my arms and legs around the rope, slowing my descent to a crawl. My heart was pounding in my ears as I forced myself to take a slow, deep breath before adjusting my position until I had managed to snake the rope behind me, holding it so that I was more or less sitting on it, before beginning to more slowly allow myself to descend toward the bottom of the shaft.  


It seemed to go on forever, and I began to worry that my rope would run out before I hit the ground, but soon my feet came to rest on solid ground, although it let out a hollow thud at the contact. I tested my weight on the surface, and it seemed to hold, so I carefully stood up straight, glancing around, only to realize that the Focus identified four walls rather close to me and I realized that I must still be in some kind of vent.  


“Not quite there, it seems…”  


With a frown, I untied the rope from my belt and shook it, signaling to Talanah above that it was her turn. As I examined the space, I realized that an opening appeared to my left, rising only about waist high. I knelt down and peered into the pitch-black space, my Focus thankfully providing the outlines of the walls as they stretched into the distance.  


“Onward it is…”  


I crawled a foot or two into the tunnel, so that I was out of Talanah’s way, before pausing to wait for her. As her feet touched down on the metallic surface of the vent, I saw her shuffle about, clearly feeling around her.  


“Aloy?” she whispered.  


“I’m here. You’ve got to crawl from here.”  


“Seriously?”  


“Unfortunately.”  


With a sigh, she untied herself from the rope before shaking it several times.  


“You’re not going to get it off like that.”  


“I know, but… well, it was worth a shot.”  


“Hopefully we won’t need to rappel more than once more.”  


The sigh that answered me seemed to be Talanah’s only answer before she carefully crouched down, feeling around the walls until she found the opening near me, her hand landing on my boot and prompting her to jump in surprise.  


“Boo.”  


“Oh, shush.”  


She hit me playfully and I laughed before turning to begin crawling farther down the tunnel.  


“Follow me.”  


“I guess I don’t have much of a choice, huh?”  


“Not unless you want to turn back.”  


Talanah didn’t respond, but I heard the sound of her moving about only a foot or two behind me as I led the way farther down the vent. It felt like we had been crawling for an hour before I caught sight of a bluish-purple light growing larger up ahead. I renewed my vigor as we approached, until I came to a sudden stop at the end of the vent. Talanah rammed into me from behind a moment later and I nearly tumbled forward and down the several-foot drop, but managed to hold myself in place.  


“You gotta say something before stopping short like that,” she grumbled.  


“Sorry.”  


“Are we there, finally?”  


My eyes scanned over the room below us as I nodded slowly.  


“Possibly.”  


She didn’t say anything further, so I took that as my cue and I carefully began to reposition myself in the vent until my feet stuck out over the edge of the drop, hanging in the air for a moment or two before I pushed myself off and fell the short distance to the floor below. Talanah followed suit a few moments later, letting out a heavy sigh as she glanced around the space, as well. It was another shaft, like the one we had just left, but this one was much wider, providing more than enough room for us to stand side by side, and it seemed to stretch far overhead, disappearing into total darkness, once again. The area where we stood was lit by a single light source that looked very similar to the glowing cables and lights I had seen the Banuk use before, standing out as distinctly not ancient amidst the rest of the metal environment, the fixture bound to some kind of old, metal bar set into the wall.  


“Okay, so we found a bigger vent,” she sighed. “Now what?”  


I glanced around the walls near us for a moment or two before I happened to notice the one to my right and I paused, my head tilting to the side slightly. Worn writing adorned the metal surface. A good deal of the actual paint had worn and faded, but just enough was left for me to make out what it said.  


“SB-2,” I muttered softly.  


“What?”  


I gestured to the wall.  


“The writing.”  


Talanah followed my gesture, letting out a “huh” as she noticed it, too.  


“What’s that mean?”  


“It’s a… code,” I said.  


“Like… a spy’s kind of code?”  


“No, like a… like directions,” I said.  


“Directions to what?”  


My eyes widened as I suddenly glanced down, stepping aside as my gaze swept over the ground.  


“No… directions to _where_.”  


Finally, my eyes locked onto a small square of metal outlined in the floor, just under Talanah’s left foot. I gestured for her to move aside and she glanced at me curiously but obliged. As I knelt down beside the square, I gripped a metal bar on one side, holding it with one hand and attempting to pull on it, but the metal didn’t budge. Several seconds passed in awkward silence, save my grunts of exertion, before I sighed, gripping the bar with both hands and bracing my feet on two small, metal beams to either side of me.  


“What are you doing?”  


I was incapable of answering as every ounce of my attention and strength was focused on pulling on the metal handle, but I was saved from more moments of awkward silence as a loud, metallic creaking sounded from below me and the metal square began to lift from the floor, tilting on one side. A moment later, I seemed to break past the sticking point of the hatch and it shot open much more easily. I staggered in place for a moment before carefully lowering it onto the floor, away from the opening that had now been created.  


Talanah and I crouched on either side of the hole, staring down into the faintly-lit compartment below. More metal floors and walls greeted us, but I found the excitement building in my chest, as my heart rate increased.  


“Where does this lead?” she asked, glancing up at me.  


“To where we need to go.”  


She gave me a skeptical look, but before she could ask anything else, I carefully lowered myself through the opening, dropping into the space beyond. Immediately, I was enclosed in a metal, box, although one side was left open, one half of the two doors permanently pushed aside. I swallowed nervously before sliding through the opening and coming to a stop only a foot or two into the larger space beyond the old elevator car.  


The room beyond was much larger, the metal of the ceiling mostly obscured by the rock stalactites that had formed from years of water slowly dripping in from overhead. The space, itself, was otherwise unremarkable, cluttered with old, wooden boxes and burnt-out torches that hinted at some kind of previous excavation project, although none of it bore any signs that someone had been here recently. What drew my attention, above all else, was the large, metal door at the far end of the open space.  
It stood towering ten feet or so over my head, the now-familiar triangular shape adorning its front.  


The sound of Talanah’s boots on the metal floor behind me broke my daze, prompting me to glance back at her. As she slipped through the opening in the elevator door, she glanced around the room, her gaze settling on the large door across from us, as well.  


“Well, that certainly looks like an entrance.”  


“It is,” I said, feeling my fingers begin to tremble at my sides, so I quickly gripped the sleeves of my cloak in an attempt to steady them.  


She raised her eyebrows slightly, looking over at me as the corners of her lips began to pull back in a grin.  


“The one we’re looking for?”  


I nodded and she let out a short laugh.  


“So what are we doing just standing around?”


	2. The Death and Resurrection Show

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's Monday, and as promised, here we are.
> 
> Thank you so much to everyone who's checked out the beginning of this third installment so far.
> 
> I won't dawdle; I know what you're all here for.
> 
> It's time someone else found out the truth, too.

Talanah gestured ahead and I swallowed nervously, turning back to the door. With one last, deep breath, I began to walk toward it, navigating around the boxes and rock formations until I approached the circular, metal platform before it. Just before I reached it, however, I paused, glancing back at her.  


“Hang back off this platform for a moment,” I said.  


Confusion creased her face, but she nodded, coming to a stop a few steps away and bracing her hands on her hips.  


With a heavy sigh, I turned back to the door and stepped onto the platform. Immediately, the lines of the triangular pattern lit up a bright red and a singular, bright light at the top began to glow.  


“Hold for identiscan,” the gravelly, distorted voice commanded.  


I heard Talanah let out a soft gasp behind me as I raised my head toward the door slightly, squaring my shoulders to it as I waited for the red light to pass over me. A small, holographic image appeared beside me, showing a twisting structure of lines and dots, small blue dots linked to text appearing beside it, moments later. A moment later, an all-too-familiar image appeared next to the purple diagram. I stared back at the small pictures of the short-haired redhead for a few moments before forcing myself to tear my eyes away, focusing on the door, once again.  


“Genetic profile confirmed. Entry authorized.”  


Just as I began to step forward, expecting the door to slide open, a loud grinding sounded from within and it jerked slightly, but otherwise remained closed.  


“Malfunction—malfunction—malfunction—malfunction—”  


“Are you kidding me?!” I growled, stomping one foot as I tilted my head back for a moment, shaking it slowly.  


“That doesn’t sound good…”  


“Yeah—it—just—hold on,” I snapped, glancing back toward Talanah and raising my index finger toward her before turning back to the door. “Hey! Elisabet Sobeck here, requesting access!”  


My heart was pounding in my ears as a feeling of dread began to take hold in my chest, but I quickly tried to brush it aside.  


“Access request acknowledged. Root command functions are available. Do you wish to proceed?”  


“I do!” I shouted, stepping forward and pounding my fist on the metal surface. “Get me through this door!”  


“Analyzing…”  


An agitated sigh escaped me as I stepped back, placing my hands on my hips as I waited impatiently.  


“Primary access inoperable due to mechanical failure.”  


“That really doesn’t sound good…”  


“No shit!” I whirled on Talanah, glaring at her as she recoiled, raising her hands defensively.  


With a heavy sigh, I ran one hand over my face, shaking my head.  


“Sorry…”  


I turned back to the door, looking up toward the red light at the top of it, once again.  


“What options are there to fix the failure?”  


“Emergency venting procedure: likely to circumvent blockage.”  


A bright, blue holographic image of a circle appeared in the center of the door, an arrow pointing down toward what looked like the lower half of a box in the center of it.  


“Do you wish to proceed?”  


With a sigh, I stepped forward, leaning in toward the image and angrily jabbing it with two fingers.  


“Yes, I do, thank you.”  


The image disappeared as an electronic chime sounded and the red lights in the doorway disappeared.  


“Emergency venting: authorized.”  


“Piece of shit…”  


Just then, the center of the door began to slide up and out of the way and I only had a moment to realize what was happening before I dodged to my left, a blast of cold, stale air slamming into me and prompting me to raise my arm in protection over my eyes. Immediately, I was wracked by a coughing fit as I felt the blast of air continue to whip by and around me, tugging violently at my cloak to the point where the neckline nearly choked me.  


The door continued to slide open, however, and I slowly began to lower my arm, moving before the opening as the windstorm died down. I stared into the room beyond for a moment before the realization that the sound of rushing air still sounded around me, although I was no longer being blasted form within the bunker. Instead, I whirled around, searching for the source of the sound, only for my gaze to slowly raise toward the ceiling.  


A vent, not unlike the one Talanah and I had originally crawled through to reach the elevator entrance, was set into the ceiling, and the wind seemed to be sucked toward it.  


I muttered a curse under my breath as I turned back toward Talanah, but she was too busy staring at me with a look of shock and awe to notice my agitation, it seemed.  


“How did you know that would work?”  


With a heavy sigh, I shrugged.  


“I didn’t.”  


Talanah slowly stepped onto the platform beside me, staring past me into the facility beyond, her wide eyes slowly scanning about the space before returning to me.  


“The door… _knew_ you,” she said softly.  


With a heavy sigh, I nodded, rubbing my eyes with one hand.  


“It’s… a long story.”  


“You had two months,” she said shortly. “Why didn’t you tell me… anything?”  


“I did tell you I had ties to the Old Ones…”  


Talanah continued to stare at me, seemingly in disbelief, for a moment or two before finally managing to compose herself, clamping her mouth shut as she shook her head.  


“You… weren’t kidding.”  


My lips pulled into a thin line as I shook my head. Her gaze moved past me and into the room beyond the door, once again.  


“So… we go in?”  


I gestured through the open doorway and she took a tentative step forward before pausing, glancing over at me.  


“You first.”  


She gestured ahead, instead, and I rolled my eyes, drawing a smirk from her, once again. With that, though, I took a deep breath and turned to step into the rather cavernous room beyond. Despite the numerous stalagmites and large-scale buildup of rock formations across the floor and around the towering columns that stretched to the ceiling overhead, the space immediately began to feel familiar. Holographic images of an all-too familiar logo sprung to life on the fronts of the various columns, my eyes tracing up the blue, translucent images until I came to the wing-like design at the top of them.  


A tight knot appeared in my throat and I quickly swallowed it down, rubbing my clammy palms against the sides of my cloak.  


Suddenly, a loud beep filled the room and I nearly jumped a foot in the air as I whirled around, looking for signs of some kind of trap or attacker bearing down on me, but I still only found Talanah.  


“Welcome to Project: Zero Dawn.”  


The voice was rough and crackly, a thousand years of disuse clearly taking its toll on the recording.  


“What—?”  


Talanah’s voice was cut off by the synthetic voice springing to life, once again.  


“Facility diagnostics detect multiple failures. Attempting repair.”  


After several seconds of silence, Talanah cleared her throat and tried again.  


“What’s ‘Project: Zero Dawn?’”  


I sighed heavily, glancing over my shoulder toward her.  


“It’s… you’ll see.”  


Her eyebrows raised slightly as she placed her hands on her hips.  


“You didn’t bring me all this way to lure me into a trap, did you?”  


I shook my head.  


“If it’s a trap, we’re both caught in it.”  


Talanah shook her head, letting out a heavy sigh as she began to walk farther into the room, kicking at a rock on the floor in front of her.  


“That’s not a great vote of confidence, Aloy…”  


“It shouldn’t be, but…” I hesitated, biting my lower lip slightly, “a lot can change in a thousand years.”  


She gave me a curious look, but I quickly turned away, leading the way farther into the room, myself. I quickly reached a metal desk in the center of the large, open space and came to a stop, frowning. A single, small storage device sat in the middle of its surface, and I apprehensively picked it up.  


“This… can’t be it…”  


I tapped my Focus, bringing the interface to life around me. A circle appeared around the device in my hand and a green circle quickly formed around it before flashing and disappearing, a small box appearing suspended in the air beside my hand.  


“A Bid Farewell. Audio Log. Data Corruption: Minimal.”  


My brow furrowed in confusion before I reached up with my other hand and tapped the icon beside the phrase: “Begin playback?”  


Immediately, a scratchy, gravelly sound appeared in my ear and I winced slightly, but it soon passed, giving way to the sound of a voice.  


“So this is it… the final goodbye.”  


Something about it felt incredibly familiar, but I couldn’t immediately discern why.  


“We all knew we were going to have to leave this little slice of hell someday, but I guess none of us expected it to be this soon. When Sobeck broke the news to everyone… God, I could feel the final nails being driven into the casket right then and there.”  


My heart began to race as I continued to listen, my hand tightening around the small storage device involuntarily.  


“But, I guess that’s actually what we’re doing right now. Sealing this place up for good. Who knows… maybe someone will stumble upon this place in the future… and they can if what we did was worth it. Charles out.”  


With that, the recording came to a stop, but I continued to stare blankly into space, the world hazy and out of focus as the distant, purple and blue lights faded to an indistinguishable mass. That voice… of course… and that meant…  


Suddenly, something touched my shoulder and I jumped whirling around to the sound of a loud clattering. Talanah stepped back, glancing down at her feet for a moment before looking back up at me.  


“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you,” she said, “but—uh—you were just staring at nothing for a minute or two there. Also, what was that you just threw at me?”  


“I was listening,” I said and began to grin sheepishly, “and sorry, didn’t mean to do that.”  


“Okay… what was it, though?”  


“It was a… device,” I began. “It stores sounds… like a… speaking journal.”  


Talanah raised one eyebrow as she glanced down at the ground, one more time, before looking back up at me.  


“Did it say anything interesting?”  


My lips pulled into a thin line.  


“You could say that.”  


Curiosity creased her features.  


“Anything useful?”  


I sighed heavily, shaking my head.  


“Not particularly.”  


Her shoulders fell slightly as she frowned.  


“Well… continue onward, then?”  


I nodded and turned to lead the way around the desk when I paused, turning in place as my gaze swept around the entire room. Something was off. Something was missing. There should have been more.  


“It’s not here…”  


“What isn’t?”  


I turned back to Talanah, my hands clenching into fists.  


“What we came for.”  


She glanced around the room for a few moments before turning back to me.  


“And what is that, exactly? You haven’t been all that descriptive.”  


“It—it should look like… a big box.”  


She gave me an incredulous look, folding her arms over her chest.  


“A big box? That’s it? How big? Made of what?”  


“Like… big enough that you could fit inside it,” I continued, stretching my arms out to either side as some kind of indication, “and made of metal.”  


“So how do you expect to get that out of here, then?”  


I shook my head.  


“We don’t need the whole thing. We need what’s inside.”  


“And what is that?”  


I sighed, rubbing my eyes tiredly.  


“It’s…”  


“Don’t you dare say ‘it’s complicated.’”  


I looked up at her, once again to find her gaze hard, one cheek sucked in between her teeth.  


“Aloy, you already convinced me to come all the way out here, sneak into a city full of people that would kill us at the first opportunity, and rappel who knows how far into an underground bunker that’s bigger than any I’ve ever seen… just… tell me, okay?”  


After a few long moments, I began to nod slowly.  


“I think I can show you.”  


That seemed to get her attention as one of her eyebrows raised.  


“Show me?”  


I nodded more insistently, waving her onward.  


“Come on.”  


I went to take another step around the desk, but she didn’t budge.  


“I promise.”  


After several more long, awkward moments, she sighed, letting her arms fall by her sides.  


“I hate that you’ve piqued my curiosity this much.”  


A smirk twisted my lips as I led the way past the desk and quickly approached the large door at the far end of the room, my hand quickly reaching for the floating, blue lock in the center of it. I twisted the image around so the red line on it faced the floor, eliciting an electronic beep from the door as the lock image quickly spun and turned green. The door immediately slid open, moving surprisingly easily for something in a long-abandoned facility well below the ground.  


The room revealed beyond the door was much darker than the one we had just left, but I quickly began to realize that the lights I was seeing seemed to be floating in the air over the actual, metal fixtures, and I began to wonder if everything was actually just near pitch-black to Talanah, still. As I glanced back, however, she seemed to be following along just fine, her gaze sweeping over the smaller, darker room.  


“Please take a seat and wait for your name to be called. A selection of beverages and snacks are available.”  


We both started at the sudden, synthetic voice, once again, but as I quickly recovered, I found Talanah giving me a curious look.  


“I wouldn’t get your hopes up,” I quipped, grinning.  


“Disgusting.”  


We laughed as I led the way toward the door on the far side of the room, skirting around a rather large buildup of stalagmites in the middle of the room.  


“What was this place? Some kind of inn?”  


“Not exactly.”  


She sighed heavily, following me toward the door.  


“Still so cryptic…”  


“I promised—”  


“I know, just… let’s keep going.”  


My lips pulled into a thin line, once again, as I turned to step up to the door, reaching toward the holographic lock in the center of it, once again.  


“Please proceed into Viewing Room 1 for an important message regarding the purpose of your visit.”  


I paused for a moment, taking a deep breath in through my nose before glancing over my shoulder at Talanah, who suddenly looked much more interested as she approached the door, as well.  


“Is this what you were talking about?”  


“Part of it.”  


Her curiosity only seemed heightened as I twisted the lock, prompting the doors to slide open before us with an electronic chime. The room beyond them was almost as large as the first one, although the majority of the floor space was empty. Instead of a desk or chairs or old, metal crates, the majority of the space was taken up by a large, circular platform that was partially sunken into the floor, a singular ring of purple light glowing in its center.  


The two of us paused in the open doorway, scanning the dark, empty room for a moment before turning to look at each other. Talanah’s eyes were slightly widened as she stared back at me, her breathing noticeably quickened.  


“You ready?” I asked quietly.  


She swallowed before nodding quickly.  


Without another word, I gestured into the room and she apprehensively stepped forward, approaching the large, sunken circle in the center. I followed after, my footsteps slow as it felt like my boots suddenly weighed a ton.  


“ZD_0_1 data intact. Initiating playback.”  


The synthetic voice rang about the open room before the purple, semi-transparent image of a man popped into existence before us, prompting Talanah to jump back and let out a yelp in surprise. Her chest was visibly heaving as she took another step or two backward, nearly running into me. As I placed one hand on her back to stop her, she glanced back at me, her eyes wide.  


“Aloy… what?”  


“It’s like a speaking journal, but the… Old Ones… found ways to record moving images, too.”  


“Like… like that… ‘movie’ you showed me?”  


I nodded and she quickly whirled back around as the sound of the man speaking began to fill the room.  


“Welcome to Project Zero Dawn. I’m General Herres, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States of America.”  


Two waving flags appeared on either side of the image of the man, their design unlike any of the tribes’, but… they felt incredibly familiar.  


“I’m sure you’ve heard the rumors… that Zero Dawn is a top-secret superweapons program. The technological miracle that will save us from the Faro Plague… if Operation: Enduring Victory can hold off the robots long enough.”  


Immediately, at the mention of the other program name, a strong shiver wracked my body and I staggered back a step or two, pressing the heels of my hands into my temples forcefully until the strange, light-headed feeling had passed. As my attention returned to the recording, the image of General Herres was halfway through his next sentence.  


“…is that I’m the one who spread them… and they are all lies.”  


My gaze focused on Talanah to find her staring enraptured at the image of the man in ancient clothing, her hands alternating between clenching into fists and rubbing her palms against her cloak.  


“Zero Dawn is not a superweapons program, and it will not save us. Nothing will save us… and here’s why.”  


The image of General Herres paced to one side of the “stage” before one of a Corruptor suddenly flickered into existence on the other, prompting Talanah to immediately stiffen.  


“By the time the Glitch was noticed, it was already too late. Nothing could stop the Faro Plague… and nothing can. Its robots will continue to replicate and devour the biosphere. Life on Earth will be destroyed, our planet reduced to a barren sphere. Global extinction is inevitable.”  


Talanah let out an audible gasp, taking a step back before whirling to face me.  


“Aloy… what… what is this?”  


I just nodded toward the image, once again, as the image continued to describe the end of the world. As he continued to describe how the death of every living thing on the planet was inevitable, laid waste by the all-consuming masses of Faro deathbots, the images eyes seemed to bore directly into me, whenever General Herres turned to face the “audience.” For a moment, the purple coloring and glowing light of the holographic image seemed to be stripped away, leaving a very real human standing before me, his jaw set as his arms remained tightly folded behind him. A blink later, however, and the image had returned to the same, purple ghost-like one it had been the entire time.  


“Zero Day—the day life on Earth ceases to exist—is coming fast. It cannot be stopped. The hope of Zero Dawn is that something new might come after…”  


As the image continued, a new one appeared beside it, this one two simple, still images of a face, but almost immediately my heart began to pound in my ears, nearly drowning out the last part of the recording as I stared back at the same image I had seen outside the door to the entire facility, minutes ago.  


“…but I will leave it to Elisabet Sobeck to shine that thin ray of light into the darkness.”  


The image of the man beside the still images suddenly snapped to attention, his arms stiffly held at his sides.  


“Herres—out.”  


With that, all of the images disappeared, leaving the room in still, silent darkness for several long moments. I became aware that my hands were gripping the sides of my cloak so tightly that my knuckles were beginning to ache, so I slowly began to relax my grip. My tongue ran over my lips, trying to wipe away the incredibly dry, cracked feeling that had taken hold, but it seemed to do little to help, as the inside of my mouth was as dry as the outside, apparently.  


Slowly, Talanah began to turn toward me, raising one hand to point toward where the still images had hovered in the air moments ago. By the time she was fully facing me, I could see how her mouth hung open slightly, her eyes wide and her face almost entirely drained of color.  


“That… that… looked like… _you_ …” she managed, her voice barely louder than a hoarse whisper, “a-and he… it said the same name that… y-you told door before…”  


I could only stare back at her in silence as I tried to keep myself from passing out from how quickly my breathing seemed to come. It was like every part of me was screaming for oxygen, but without full-on panting, there was no way I could give it enough.  


“Aloy… w-what… is… going… on?!”  


I finally opened my mouth to speak, words fighting to form in my mind under the slightly wide-eyed stare of Talanah before me.  


“Now you know… what happened to the Old Ones.”  


She slowly began to shake her head, closing her eyes.  


“N-no… that… that doesn’t make any sense,” she hissed. “We’re here now, aren’t we? If everything on the planet died, explain the Jewel, the lake at Brightmarket, the _people_ everywhere. None of that should exist, based on what I just heard!”  


I swallowed thickly, feeling any resolve I had quickly disappearing under her glare.  


“And explain… that woman.”  


Finally, I was forced to break eye contact, my gaze travelling to the floor as I folded my arms tightly before me, hunching my shoulders slightly.  


“There’s… there’s more you need to see.”  


After several long seconds of silence, I glanced up at her, once again, to find Talanah staring back at me, her jaw set with her head tilted back ever so slightly, her hands clenched tightly into fists at her side.  


“Then show me.”  


Several moments of stillness followed before I swallowed painfully and nodded, beginning to lead the way across the room, but giving Talanah a foot or two of space as I passed. I didn’t check to see if she was following, but I could hear the extra pair of footsteps echoing behind me. When I reached the far door, I reached toward the lock, once again, only to pause as my hand hovered over it, the hair on the back of my neck standing up.  


Something was off.  


The sound of Talanah’s footsteps came to a stop behind me, as well, but she didn’t say anything. My eyes stared intently at the holographic lock for a moment or two before I pulled my hand away, instead stepping forward and slowly turning my head to press my ear against the door. A faint sound filtered through the small crack in the center and I tried to focus in on it, but I couldn’t decipher what it was, exactly.  


With a slight frown, I leaned away from the door and tapped my Focus, but the only thing it revealed was the large door before me and its power supply lines running through the walls. No signs of people or animals were immediately apparent on the other side, so I closed the interface, once again.  


“Anything there?”  


I almost jumped at the sound of Talanah’s voice, but I quickly recovered and simply shook my head, still not fully turning to look at her.  


“Thought I heard something but… seems clear.”  


She didn’t reply, so I turned back to the door and spun the holographic lock, the circle turning bright green with a synthetic chime before the two halves of the door slid aside, revealing the room beyond. At first, the long, corridor like room appeared bathed in a faint, blue and purple light, the water on the floor reflecting it somewhat and providing just enough to see by, but suddenly a bright flash of light blinded me and I squeezed my eyes closed tightly, turning away from the offending source. A moment later, a voice spoke before me and I slowly began to open them, once again.  


The light was much less painful now, but it was still much brighter than moments ago. Everything seemed to shine, even. Suddenly, as my gaze cast over the room, once again, my heart began to pound in my ears and the hair on the back of my neck stood up straight.  


Everything was new and perfect.  


There were no stalactites and stalagmites, no water on the floor, and certainly no indications that it had been abandoned for a thousand years. To prove the point even further, a figure stepped from a doorway to my left, instantly drawing my attention.  


The woman staring back at me with a confused expression was most certainly not Talanah.  


She had dark skin and curly hair that was cut just above her shoulders. Her clothes were familiar, but not from any tribe I had come across. She was holding some kind of flat, rectangular device against her chest with her left hand, while she waved her right slowly toward me.  


“Doctor Sobeck, did you hear me?”  


I blinked rapidly, but the image did not disappear.  


This was so not the time for this.  


When I said nothing, still, the woman tentatively stepped closer, her confused expression turning to concern.  


“Are you okay? Is everything okay?”  


Just as I was beginning to wonder if I would actually be forced to speak, something tapped my left shoulder and I whirled around, the bright lights around me streaking slightly for a moment before disappearing as I found myself face to face with a similar look of concern, but on a different, more familiar face.  


“Are you going to keep giving me the silent treatment?”  


I swallowed the heavy ball in my throat before shaking my head quickly.  


“Sorry, I… it’s nothing.”  


Talanah’s look of concern didn’t fade, but she did noticeably pull her hand a few inches away from me.  


“Are you going to be able to continue on?”  


“We have to,” I said firmly, my immediate response surprising her, slightly.  


She looked like she wanted to say something else, but finally just gave me a small nod and gestured farther into the room. I took a deep breath in through my nose, breathing the musty, damp scent of the ancient facility before turning back to the room beyond the first holo-theater and taking my first actual steps into it.  


Immediately, the sound of our feet sloshing through the water on the floor provided a cascade of echoes that had me glancing in every dark corner, wondering if we were truly alone, but a quick sweep of the room with my Focus, once again, assured me that it simply paranoia. When we reached the far side, I immediately reached for the door lock, opening it without a second thought.  


As we stepped into the room beyond however, I came to an abrupt halt, immediately realizing that I probably should have taken a moment to brace myself. The room contained several rows of chairs leading down toward a raised stage to my right. Another large, circular platform with a glowing white ring in the center lay in the middle of the stage, although it lay still and silent for the moment.  


A moment later, however, the sounds of laughter began to faintly ring in my ears and I could taste something incredibly bitter and acrid on the back of my tongue. Just as quickly as the sensations appeared, however, they were whisked away by the sound of the slightly distorted, synthetic voice chiming in from overhead, once again.  


“ZD_0_2 data intact. Initiating playback.”  


I glanced back to find Talanah slowly stepping into the room behind me, glancing toward the ceiling for a moment before looking back down at me.  


“Time to find out the rest.”  


She gave me a puzzled look for a moment before a bright light from the center of the raised stage drew our attentions. An image of another figure flickered into existence, but as soon as it did, I could sense how Talanah instantly tensed.  


“You’ve heard the bad news, and it’s all true.”  


As the image on the stage began to speak, there was no hiding just how much the woman it represented looked and sounded like me. After only the first few words, Talanah let out an audible gasp, taking a step or two backward before slowly turning to look over at me.  


I returned her incredulous look with a tight-lipped expression before she slowly turned back to the holographic image, stepping forward and gripping the metal railing behind the last row of seats before us. As the speech continued, I felt a throbbing pressure in my temples and I staggered back a step or two, pressing the heels of my hands into them as I squeezed my eyes shut tightly.  


The voice of the holographic projection began to echo around me as I felt a churning in my stomach, my breaths beginning to come much more quickly as my chest heaved. Suddenly, my eyes opened to find myself staring into the dark holo-theater, the rows of seats rusted and partially covered by a thousand years’ worth of natural rock formation and moss. My lips seemed to move of their own accord, and I realized that they were matching the voice echoing about the room.  


Two figures at the back of the room caught my attention and I focused on them, staring first at the incredulous expression of a dark-haired girl in an outfit of furs and metal, but then slowly moving to the redheaded woman beside her, also now baring a slightly wide-eyed expression as she slowly stepped toward the railing her companion was leaning against.  


Along with the churning feeling in my stomach, a tight feeling in my chest, like a giant hand had wrapped around me and squeezed as hard as it could, began to take hold, and for a moment the voice echoing about the room paused. The young huntress and I seemed to lock eyes for a moment as I took a slow breath in through my nose.  


“We can’t stop life from ending, but if you help me… help GAIA… we can give it a future.”  


A pregnant pause followed as the last few echoes of my voice died down, my eyes still locked on the hazel at the back of the room.  


“Join me, and help make that future real.”  


With that, I blinked, and once again I was staring at the purple, semi-transparent holographic image of an older, redheaded woman, before she flickered and disappeared, once again. The silence that filled the room was even greater than after the speech from Herres. All sound seemed to have been sucked away for several long seconds, before a slow, shaky breath in from beside me broke it, bringing back the faint sounds of dripping water and the other ambient sounds of the abandoned facility.  


I blinked several more times before slowly turning to my left, finding Talanah almost directly beside me, now. Her head was lowered and I thought her eyes might be closed, but a moment later she turned to look at me, her expression unreadable.  


“ _Who_ are you?”  


I froze, once again, as her words hit me like the Strider that had broken my ribs months ago. My heart had either come to a full stop, or was beating so fast that I could no longer distinguish any individual pulse. The only sound that filled my ears was a faint ringing as any last bit of saliva in my mouth disappeared, leaving me incapable of speaking, even if any words came to me.  


The look on Talanah’s face was somewhere between angry and fearful, but the tremble in her hands on the railing gave away that it was most likely more the latter than the former. When I had said nothing for several long moments, she cleared her throat, turning more fully to face me.  


“You said before that you were Aloy Sobeck… now we’re standing in an ancient bunker where an image that looks _remarkably_ like you, but older, just talked to us in your voice, and that ‘journal,’ or whatever it was, said it was someone with a name remarkably like yours… after you told that door that was your name, earlier. So tell me… who are you, really?”  


I desperately tried to swallow, but my tongue felt as if it had swollen to the entire size of the inside of my mouth, preventing me from doing much of anything, let alone speak. Finally, however, I forcefully cleared my throat and took a deep breath in, seemingly clearing whatever had prevented me from speaking so far.  


“Everything I’ve told you is the truth,” I began, my voice much quieter than Talanah’s, but as she opened her mouth to interrupt, I raised one finger to halt her, “just maybe not as complete as it could be.”  


“So what’s the rest of it?”  


I took a deep breath, letting my hand fall by my side.  


“I said I had ties to the Old Ones… well, it’s one in particular. That was her image, a moment ago,” I gestured to the empty air where the recording had just ended. “Her name is— _was_ —Elisabet Sobeck. She…”  


I trailed off, the words that I had meant to say disappearing in my throat until I clenched my left hand into a tight fist around my cloak, using the soreness that began to rise in my fingers to ground me in the moment, once again.  


“She was… like me… a thousand years ago.”  


Talanah slowly began to shake her head, confusion clouding her expression.  


“So… she was your… mother—somehow?”  


My jaw worked tightly for a few moments as I turned over what I wanted to say in my mind.  


“Yes and no… in a way… but not exactly.”  


Talanah’s head began to shake faster as she placed her hands on either side of it, driving the heels of them into her temples.  


“None of this makes sense!” she suddenly shouted, freezing in place as she looked back over at me. “Why did you bring me here… a-and show me this? Is any of it even real?”  


“Yes, it is,” I said insistently, taking a tentative step closer and noticing how she eyed my position warily. “I-I can prove it… everything’s there—out in the world—you just didn’t know what you were looking at, or for, before.”  


Silence fell over us for a few moments before Talanah softly cleared her throat, her voice much lower and cracked with an intense emotion when she finally spoke.  


“Are you some kind of god… or a demon?”  


I recoiled slightly, although my reaction seemed to have little effect on her.  


“W-what do you mean?”  


“From where I stand… it seems like you’re trying to say you’re a thousand years old,” she continued in the same tone of voice. “No person could live that long… so are you something else?”  


My hands clenched into fists as I struggled with what to say in response. Part of me wanted to yell angrily, ask how she could wonder something so supernatural or… ridiculous. Part of me understood, though, and wanted to do anything to try to calm the fears of my travelling companion. This was not the time, nor place, for such a schism.  


“Can I show you… something else?”  


Talanah’s eyebrows raised as I swallowed nervously, tapping the side of my Focus. The interface sprung to life around me and I quickly navigated to the stored information section, where a particular recording had been saved. Once I had accessed it, I slid the Focus from beside my ear, slowly holding it out toward the other woman. She eyed the device warily for a moment before looking back up at my face.  


“Put this on… and you’ll see.”  


She tentatively stepped toward me, reaching for the device. For a moment, I worried that she might smash it, or attack me, instead, but she slowly slid it beside her ear, as I had worn it moments ago. Instantly, she recoiled, her head whirling about to take in the interface, most likely.  


“This… this is what you see?”  


“With that device, yes,” I said. “You should see a—box—in the middle of your vision… with an arrow in the middle of it.”  


She turned back toward me and nodded, staring at some point in space between us.  


“Reach out and press that arrow.”  


Talanah tentatively did as I said, jumping as the sound began to play in her ear, I presumed. The moments dragged on for an excruciatingly long time as the message played, her expression growing more and more incredulous, once again. Finally, she reached up toward the Focus with a trembling hand and removed it, holding it before her as she stared at the device in her fingers. Finally, her gaze lifted to me, her eyes wide.  


“That… you… who…?”  


She seemed incapable of forming a full thought, and I couldn’t entirely blame her. I had pushed her off the edge of a cliff and into a sea of information she couldn’t have even begun to expect, beforehand.  


“Now you know.”  


“You… you’re… _you_ … but also…”  


I nodded slowly and she began to shake her head shortly after.  


“That… but…”  


“There’s so much more to the world than any of us knew,” I interrupted. “All of this is only just scratching the surface.”  


Finally, Talanah held out the Focus toward me, and I tentatively took it from her hand. As I slipped it beside my ear, once again, the faint lights at the edges of the room sprung to life, casting us in their blue-purple glow.  


“I don’t blame you if you want to walk away,” I said quickly. “I’m sorry I… dragged you into this without telling you… well, anything, really—”  


“No.”  


I froze, my eyes widened slightly at how strong Talanah’s tone was, suddenly. Finally, her eyes focused on me, once again, the scared, incredulous look from earlier replaced by a hardened intensity that I felt I had only seen in a hazy memory.  


“You can’t just give me this much and expect me to walk away.”  


Her posture straightened as her jaw squared to me.  


“I’m not going anywhere until I know the whole story.”  


Her expression cracked somewhat as one corner of her lips began to pull back in a smirk.  


“You’re not getting rid of me that easily.”  


I stared at her incredulously for several moments before I blinked rapidly, shaking my head.  


“You… believe me?”  


“I have to say,” she continued, her smirk growing even more, “what you’ve shown me is much more convincing than just some stories half-remembered after generations of people telling them over and over.”  


A shaky laugh escaped me as Talanah’s stiff composure fully cracked and she relaxed, once again, her demeanor returning to what I had come to know, so far.  


“So, _Sobeck_ ,” she said, the name in her voice sending a shiver down my spine, “lead on.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, hitting the ground running with this one. More of Zero Dawn to come next week. See ya then.


	3. Puzzle Pieces

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Monday, y'all.
> 
> Slightly shorter chapter today than the last two, sort of on purpose and sort of by accident.
> 
> I've constantly debated and reworked this section a ton, and I feel like this part is relatively consistent with where I want it, but also I've had family visiting, so getting ready for that and then spending time with them has taken up a lot of my time I would normally devote to writing the past week or so.
> 
> So apologies of this feels a little too "filler-y" but I promise it will pay off in the next few.
> 
> So with that glowing description out of the way...

When I finally recovered from everything she had just said, and the realization that she actually seemed willing to believe everything thrown at her so far sank in, I let out another short laugh, nodding slowly.  


“All right.”  


I waved for her to follow and began to move toward the door farther into the facility. Evidently, Talanah had more questions that she couldn’t hold back, as almost immediately they began to pour out of her.  


“So, the Earth—the world—was destroyed, but… remade? HADES was that machine-god-thing that you stopped at Meridian… I saw it on that list when the image talked about ‘parts of GAIA’… why would it have been included in something that was designed to create and preserve life? From what you said… why did it want to kill _you_ so badly? A-and that—APOLLO—she mentioned… what happened to that?”  


I smirked, glancing over my shoulder as I turned the lock to open the door.  


“I wish I knew all of those answers, too.”  


Talanah shook her head, massaging her temples slowly.  


“You can’t just keep giving me half the information,” she whined.  


An actual laugh escaped me as I nodded through the open doorway into the room beyond.  


“Some of them may be up ahead, though.”  


She gave me an admonishing look but I simply held my grin until she sighed, trudging after me into the remainder of the facility. The next few rooms we passed through all had signs of something like a hospital, with lots of beds and desks littered about the space. More of the small audio recording devices were littered about the space, as well, although there was still no sign of the large box we had come here looking for, originally.  


“Anything in particular we’re hoping to find in here?” Talanah asked, picking up one of the recording devices and turning it over in her hands.  


“It wouldn’t be one of those,” I said, frowning. “It should be a large, metal box, remember?”  


“Oh, yeah…”  


I gave her a look with raised eyebrows and she smirked.  


“I almost forgot, honestly.”  


I sighed, nodding.  


“A lot’s happened in here, already.”  


Talanah let out a snorting sound as she placed the device back on the nearby desk.  


“That’s an understatement…”  


Another minute or so of searching later, I sighed, turning back to Talanah, who had evidently given up already and taken a seat on one of the ancient, metal beds, her hands clasped between her knees.  


“Nothing of use, here?”  


“No, unfortunately,” I sighed. “Let’s keep heading farther in.”  


With that, she hopped off the bed and followed me back out into the main hallway. As we approached the main door at the far end, the hair on the back of my neck began to stand up and my pace slowed. Finally, when I came to a stop before the door, I found my fingers trembling as I slowly reached for the lock. Just as they hovered over the holographic image, I paused, pulling my hand back slightly.  


“What is it?”  


I jumped at the sound of Talanah’s voice, but glanced back to see her reaching toward the bow slung over her shoulders.  


“N-nothing, just… strange feeling,” I replied.  


She didn’t look entirely convinced, but settled for leaving her fingers hooked over the string of her bow where it came over her right shoulder. With that, I turned back to the door and spun the holographic lock. The familiar electronic chime sounded a moment later and they slid aside, revealing yet another mostly-dark room. This one seemed darker than the others, however, and I hesitantly stepped inside, one hand reaching back toward my weapons, as well.  


My gaze travelled from the near total darkness directly ahead of me to my right, where the faint lights from the holographic markings over a door at the far end of the room lit the space, at least somewhat. Almost immediately, I froze, however, as an intense feeling had taken hold in my chest. Every part of my body was screaming that I had been here before, but I couldn’t place exactly why or what exactly the room was.  


Suddenly, with the next blink, the darkness and the rock formations and the dripping water disappeared, and I found myself standing in the middle of a well-lit hall with gleaming metal surfaces. I quickly blinked several more times, but the image before me did not change back. I swallowed thickly before stepping forward, my footsteps on the hard surface ringing about me faintly as I did.  


The first doorway on my right was closed, but as I glanced at it, a holographic box appeared in the center of it.  


“Tom Paech.”  


My face contorted in confusion for a moment before the image of a ruddy-faced man with blonde hair flashed before me and I staggered back into the railing behind me, my heart pounding as my chest heaved.  


No, I had… it couldn’t… he hadn’t… _he_ couldn’t…  


Just then, the sound of a door unlocking and sliding open came from my left and I spun to face it, turning just in time to find an even more familiar face stepping from the room within. He glanced toward me before pulling a double take and stepping fully onto the walkway ahead of me.  


“Elisabet Sobeck, ain’t it?”  


I could only swallow thickly as I nodded slowly. Travis looked somewhat apprehensive as he eyed me up and down.  


“I didn’t realize my mere presence struck such awe in someone, especially you.”  


“I-I… you surprised me,” I said.  


He raised one eyebrow.  


“Not what you expected?”  


“You could say that.”  


He nodded slowly, an awkward silence falling over us for a few moments before he cleared his throat.  


“So, just coming to check on the new recruits?”  


Before I could answer, the hall returned to its ruined state, and I was left staring at a very concerned Talanah just as she gripped my shoulders and shook me violently.  


“Aloy, snap out of it!”  


I blinked rapidly, shaking my head.  


“W-what happened?”  


“Oh thank the Sun…” Talanah sighed, releasing her grip on me. “You started walking off in some kind of trance, and you were talking to no one, but… you wouldn’t respond to me.”  


My heart continued to pound in my ears as I raised my hands to rub at my eyes tiredly.  


“Are you going to be okay to continue on?”  


“Yes,” I said quickly, lifting my head to find her recoiling slightly in surprise. “Sorry, just… we need to press on… regardless of—”  


“Regardless of your mind?” she interrupted. “Aloy… what is that important in here?”  


My lips pulled into a thin line as I took a deep breath in through my nose.  


“The box we’re looking for, it—”  


Before I could finish, however, a loud bang sounded from behind us and we both jumped in surprise. We whirled toward the doorway we had originally come through, but nothing moved for several long seconds. Finally, I slipped away from Talanah and pressed myself against the wall alongside the doorway, using it as cover as I slowly leaned one eye around the frame to look back into the medical area we had just left.  


The room was as dark and still as before, but I waited for several long moments, listening intently to every drip of water or small whistle of wind through the hallway until I was convinced that there were was no further movement. When I finally turned back to Talanah, I saw her standing with her bow at the ready, an arrow nocked to its string. She looked to me expectantly and I shook my head, moving away from the door.  


“What was it, you think?”  


“I don’t know, anything could have fallen in here,” I said.  


“But you don’t just think it was a rock, do you?”  


My lips pulled into a thin line as I shook my head.  


“Kestrels?”  


“Maybe,” I sighed. “When we opened the main door, it vented something to the surface. There’s a good chance someone noticed.”  


Her jaw clenched as she glanced past me toward the open doorway.  


“It’s good to know that it was—uh, you know— _real_.”  


She glanced back at me, once again, the look of concern returning to her face.  


“Is that… something you always have to ask yourself?”  


I shook my head quickly.  


“Just… something about this place…”  


A shiver ran down my spine and I rubbed at my upper arms for a moment before taking a deep breath and letting them hang at my sides, once again.  


“Let’s keep moving, though, just in case it wasn’t nothing.”  


Talanah nodded, returning her arrow to her quiver and slinging her bow over her shoulders, once again. We moved quickly along the walkway until we approached the main door at the far end, but I quickly realized that the holographic lock in the center of it was missing. I frowned, looking over the door, itself, but everything else seemed to be in place.  


“Shit…”  


“What’s that?”  


“It’s—the door,” I sighed. “The lock is missing.”  


Silence followed for several long moments before I glanced back at Talanah to find a look of confusion on her face.  


“Missing?” she finally said. “How can a lock be missing?”  


“It’s… it’s complicated.”  


“Try me.”  


I took my Focus from beside my ear and held it out toward her, once again. She took it slowly and placed it beside her right ear, jumping slightly as the lights inevitable appeared around her. Now that I was no longer seeing them, I was aware of how dark the room actually was. There was actually still some faint light from above the doorway, and I glanced up to find a small series of rectangular lights, that shone a faintly blue color, set into the corner where the wall met the ceiling.  


“Huh…”  


“So all these… words and… things,” Talanah began, drawing my attention back to her, “they tell you about this place?”  


“In a way. They’re like… directions,” I explained, “or at least make the directions easier to follow.”  


I gestured to the door and she turned her head toward it, before glancing over at me and jumping in surprise. A smirk tugged at my lips as I imagined she must be seeing the glowing outline of a person that the Focus usually showed, overlaid over the actual image of me.  


“There’s supposed to be a—dial—you can turn in the center of the door,” I said as she reached up and took the Focus off, blinking several times before handing it back to me. “As you can see, it’s missing.”  


Talanah made a sound in acknowledgement, staring at the small, triangular device as I placed it beside my ear, once again, and brought the interface to life around me.  


“Do you think there’s more of those things in here?”  


I paused my scan of the room to glance back over at her, raising my eyebrows slightly.  


“For you?”  


“For me,” she replied, nodding as a grin tugged at her lips.  


I couldn’t help but smile, as well, as a quiet laugh escaped me.  


“I’ll be on the lookout for one.”  


With that, I turned back to the door, scanning it with my Focus and bringing up a large box that covered most of my vision. Various lines of information appeared in the box, and I scanned over them for a few moments before finding one that looked useful and tapping the one that read “power system.”  


“Offline.”  


“Well no shit…”  


I happened to notice that something had lit up from behind the box and I tilted my head slightly, only for the interface to turn with me, somewhat and I sighed, closing the large information box but leaving the interface in general open. Several thick, purple lines led from the side of the door along the wall to the right, leading down a short set of stairs before stopping in whatever room lay beyond.  


“Come on, I think I figured out how to open the door.”  


“You mean other than trying to blow it open?”  


I smirked at Talanah as I shook my head.  


“Probably wouldn’t go so well. It’s pretty thick metal.”  


Talanah sighed, throwing her arms into the air.  


“Well, I tried to have some fun.”  


I led the way down the short set of stairs, coming to a stop in the middle of a room with two rows of large, blocky, metal units on either side of me and slowly turned in place, frowning. They all had glowing, red lights on the front of them, but one on the side to my right was dark. The lights on the opposite side were all lit, though, each of them showing a blue circle with a single red line pointed in some direction.  


“Are you kidding me…?”  


“What?”  


Talanah looked around, frowning as she clearly couldn’t see anything.  


“No, it’s not a… not a threat,” I sighed, “just a… puzzle.”  


“Puzzle?” she looked to me curiously.  


“Yeah… you’d need to look through one of these,” I said, gesturing to my Focus.  


“Now I am _really_ feeling out of the loop. Think there’s one of those in here?”  


“In a maintenance room? Probably not.”  


“A what room?”  


I paused, staring blankly at the holographic logos before me for a few moments before glancing toward Talanah to find her giving me a curious look.  


“Something… _else_ you didn’t tell me?”  


“It just means a place where w—the Old Ones—stored stuff that helped fix or run everything else in the facility.”  


As I went to turn back to the holographic dials before me, I noticed Talanah still giving me a strange look, and the hair on the back of my neck stood up straight. I swallowed thickly before scanning over the various dials, trying to figure out some kind of pattern. After several seconds of fruitless turning in my head, I noticed something off to the left and glanced over to find a large, metal box set into the wall and I raised my hand toward my Focus. As the interface came to life around me, the box also lit up with several blue circles on its face.  


“Now that’s just too easy…”  


I heard Talanah say something in response, but I ignored her and moved over to the first of the holographic dials, beginning to turn it until it matched the first one at the top of the metal box. I continued until all matched the key, at which point they all spun and turned green before coming to a stop, shining brightly back at me.  


With a sigh, I turned back around to find Talanah eying my warily, but she quickly tried to hide the expression under a forced smirk.  


“Your fancy ‘light magic’ work?”  


“Almost,” I nodded. “We need to fix this side, though.”  


As I gestured to the large, metal contraptions behind her, she frowned.  


“Fix how?”  


“Well, first,” I continued, stepping over to the one panel that was dark and grabbing hold of small knob in the center of it, pulling until a small, rectangular piece of metal slid from within and I held it up toward her, “we need a new one of these.”  


“What is it?”  


“A power cell,” I explained. “This one’s dead.”  


“Okay… so where do we find that down here?”  


I frowned, glancing around the room as I dropped the dead cell on the ground beside me. The space was likely cluttered before a thousand years of decay and nature reclamation had done their work on it, making it almost impossible to easily spot where a replacement would be stored.  


“One must be close by… we just have to find it.”  


Talanah nodded, pointing to something just past the bank of dials I had just finished turning.  


“I’ll check up there.”  


I followed her gesture to find a ladder set into the wall, leading up to some service area overhead, presumably.  


“Sounds good, I’ll try down here.”  


We split off, Talanah quickly scaling the ladder as I began to scan around the floor and various containers left just beside the bank of red holographic dials. The boxes yielded some useful scraps of metal and one even held a few ancient, glass cylinders still filled with some kind of blue liquid that I carefully tilted back and forth to find that it still seemed to move normally.  


“What’s the expiration date on one of these?”  


A smirk twisted my lips as I carefully slid the glass cylinders into an empty pouch on my belt and sealed it, taking care to place it as best I could in a spot where it wouldn’t repeatedly bang into my leg or hip as I moved about. Just as I turned from the shelf to check on Talanah, she let out a sharp whistle and I jumped, letting out a yelp in surprise.  


My gaze swept over the ceiling overhead until I spotted her kneeling at the edge of a walkway just over my head, grinning widely.  


“This look right?”  


She held up a rectangular piece of metal that was identical to the one I had removed from the dial moments ago.  


“Looks like it, yeah.”  


She indicated for me to catch it and I nodded, holding my hands over my head. The power cell hit my right palm and I jumped, nearly throwing it to the ground, but I managed to slam my left hand down over it, pinning it in place and saving it from breaking at the last second. Talanah let out a soft sound of approval as I glanced up at her, grinning sheepishly, and began to move toward the empty dial slot.  


As soon as I slid the power cell back into place, Talanah hopped off the upper platform, landing in a crouch a few feet away, groaning slightly as she rose to her feet and shook out her left leg.  


“Gotta take it a bit easier, I think,” she sighed.  


“You okay?” I asked, pausing just before I pushed the power cell firmly into place.  


Talanah made a non-committal sound and waved dismissively, which only made me frown slightly, but she didn’t as if she would offer anything more, so I turned back to the power cell and pushed it the last inch or two into the slot, feeling it click firmly into place. A moment later, a holographic dial appeared over it, red like the others, but all of them quickly spun and turned blue with a singular red mark facing up, down, left, or right.  


“That do it?”  


I nodded, glancing along the line of dials before activating my Focus and turning to a similar box to the one I had used before to determine how the dials needed to be orientated. Within a few seconds, I had managed to turn all of the dials to the correct positions, but nothing happened. They didn’t spin and turn green, and there was no obvious sound of anything powering up, as I had hoped. A frown tugged at my lips as I braced my hands on my hips, comparing the actual dials to the diagram again and again until I threw my hands into the air, letting out a growl of frustration.  


“I don’t get it!”  


“Don’t get what?”  


I spun toward Talanah, gesturing to the dials that I knew she couldn’t see.  


“This stupid ‘puzzle’!” I snapped. “I did what it says I should, but nothing happened!”  


Talanah shrugged, raising her hands in confusion, too. With a sigh, I took my Focus off, holding it out to her.  


“Here, you try.”  


She stared at me for a moment or two with an incredulous expression before she finally recovered and gingerly took the small piece of metal from me. As soon as she slipped it in place beside her ear, she jumped, glancing along the row of dials.  


“So this is what you’ve been messing with this whole time…”  


“Uh huh.”  


“And what’s the point with them?”  


“They need to match what that thing says,” I explained, pointing to the metal box beside the dials. “That’s how the other side worked.”  


Talanah glanced behind us for a moment before turning back to the dials before us, chewing the inside of her cheek slowly. As she turned back to the box that should have shown the correct configuration to reset the power, she tilted her head slightly. A moment later, her hand reached out toward something in the air before her and she appeared to tap it with her fingertips. Confusion creased my face as Talanah fell still, her eyes staring vacantly at the air before her for several moments before her expression lit up and she turned back to the dials.  


She quickly stepped up to the row and hesitantly reached toward where I knew the farthest one on the left sat, pausing for a moment before twisting her hand in the air. After the first one, she quickly moved down the line, twisting and turning empty air, from my perspective, until she came to the last dial, turning this one twice to the left before jumping and letting out an exclamation somewhere between surprise and victory.  


“I think I did it!”  


I raised my eyebrows slightly as she quickly took the Focus off, handing it back to me.  


“Here, you see.”  


I slipped the device back on and turned to the row of dials to find them all showing as complete, green circles, like the other side.  


“Y-yeah, you did…” I said. “How did you figure it out?”  


“Beside that box, there was a… thing…” she began, “and I saw another arrow like that other speaking journal you showed me, so I touched it, like you said. A voice started talking, and she explained that somehow all of these were backwards… she wasn’t happy about it at all, but she also said it ‘wasn’t her job.’”  


I stared back at Talanah incredulously for a moment or two before bursting out laughing. She looked confused by this, but I quickly recovered and began to shake my head.  


“It’s… it’s nothing,” I managed between laughs. “Everything’s fixed, it seems. Let’s go back to the door.”  


We trudged back up the steps to the main room, finding the door that had previously shown no lock now had the familiar blue circle with a singular red section facing up toward the ceiling. As I led the way toward it, something made the hair on the back of my neck stand up and I came to a stop, one hand just beginning to raise toward the lock.  


“What is it?”  


I took a deep breath in through my nose, my eyes focusing on the shaking tips of my fingers just before I curled them into a tight fist, my knuckles turning a bright white. Finally, when I let out the breath I had been holding, I relaxed my hand, but my fingers still trembled.  


“It’s nothing,” I finally said, although I could detect the slightest hint of a tremor in my voice, and I cleared my throat forcefully in an attempt to cover it up, somehow.  


Before Talanah could say anything else, I turned the lock, the dial turning green and spinning before seemingly locking in place as the doors slid open. As soon as they did, I found myself confronted with a dark room, sporadic lights here and there about the large, open space giving me a rough idea of its shape. The feeling that I knew this room, more than any of the others before it, sank in and I my heart beat pounding in my ears.  


My legs began to carry me forward, seemingly of their own accord, into the darkened main hub of the Zero Dawn facility. As I approached the railing that ran around the slightly raised platform in the middle of the room, I quickly realized that something was different. There were no signs of rust, decay, or the rock formations that covered the rest of the facility. The metal was smooth and cool to the touch, and even after releasing my grip on it and trying in a different spot, the texture didn’t change.  


My eyes scanned the shadowy corners and dark windows into the various subfunction areas for signs of life, but none made themselves apparent, although the emergency-level lighting did little to aid in actually being able to see anything. As my gaze returned to the center platform, a strange feeling that something was off, once again, came over me and it took me a few moments of wracking my brain to realize what it was. The large metal box—the one I had come for—wasn’t there… but it had been before, right?  


I had been in this very spot before.  


I had seen it.  


But where was it now?  


I made my way around the railing until I came to one of the walkways up to the center platform. As I began to make my way up it, I swore I caught motion out of the corners of my vision, but as I turned to look, I found nothing there. My footsteps echoed like thunder as I slowly scaled the metal walkway, each one repeating over and over as the pitch slowly detuned and distorted, until I could have sworn it was a voice.  


Still, no signs of motion were visible as I glanced around.  


As I came to a stop in the center of the platform, I froze, my eyes sweeping the darkened area numerous times, but no large, metal box appeared out of thin air.  


That… couldn’t be right.  


I _knew_ it was here.  


I had _seen_ it.  


I quickly paced to the other side of the raised platform, reaching for the railing when I heard a quiet skittering on the metal floor beneath me and I froze, glancing down. Something metallic glinted softly with a faint light from nearby and I crouched down, reaching for the item. As I picked it up, returning to a standing position, I realized that it was another voice recorder, like the ones I had found in the entrance and in the medical area.  


My Focus interface sprung to life around me, a green circle slowly appearing around the device in my hand until a dark box appeared over it, although much of the usual information it should have contained seemed to be missing.  


“Sorry; Unknown File Type; Data Corruption: Unknown.”  


I pressed the arrow button at the top of the box with shaking fingers, a voice that immediately turned my blood to ice appearing in my ear.  


“Sorry, Lis. I knew you were counting on that box being here, but we don’t always get what we want.”  


My fingers began to curl tightly around the device in my hand until I heard a crack and a soft fizzle of electricity as the outer frame crushed in toward the circuits within the device.  


“You… you…”  


Just then, something hit me hard across the face and I staggered to the side, releasing the device in my hand just in time to grab the railing to steady myself. As I whirled back toward the center of the platform, the light in the room seemed to change, the muted greys and whites and the crushing blackness giving way to a strange, soft blue-and-purple glow. Along with the change in lighting came a figure that had appeared before me, prompting me to reach for my spear, but she quickly raised her hands defensively.  


“Wait, wait! It’s me!”  


I stared back at the figure for several moments longer before Talanah’s features registered in my mind, once again, and I sighed heavily.  


“I’m… I’m so sorry…”  


“By the Sun, I was… I…”  


Talanah swore loudly, shaking her head as she pressed her fingers to her temples.  


“I was scared, Aloy,” she said. “I’ve never seen you, or anyone, act like that before.”  


“L-like what?”  


“You just… it was like you were sleepwalking,” she said. “You just started moving slowly, but no matter what I said or did, you didn’t stop, and you didn’t acknowledge me.”  


Confusion creased my face.  


“So then what just happened now?”  


Talanah sighed, shaking her head.  


“I slapped you… pretty hard.”  


As she mentioned it, a burning sensation appeared in the left side of my face and I gingerly ran my fingers over the spot, the skin sore to the touch, already.  


“Well… uh… thanks?”  


Talanah didn’t laugh or sigh in relief, instead, she focused intently on me, her jaw set.  


“Tell me what we’re looking for. Now.”  


I opened my mouth to speak, but she cut me off.  


“No more vague answers. No more deflections. The truth, Aloy.”  


I closed my mouth, swallowing painfully before taking a deep breath in through my nose.  


“The box I mentioned… contains alternate copies of all of those subfunctions you saw earlier… including APOLLO.”  


Talanah remained still for several moments until the implication seemed to sink in and her eyes widened.  


“APOLLO, a-and… and… GAIA?”  


I took a deep breath in through my nose.  


“Maybe.”  


It was Talanah’s turn to swallow visibly before she glanced around the room, her dumbfounded expression still not lessened.  


“So… where is it?”  


I quickly whirled around, scanning both the platform where we stood, as well as the walkways around it, but no signs of the large, metal crate were visible. Finally, I had spun in circles enough to convince myself, and I slowly turned to face Talanah, a tight feeling appearing in my chest as I took another slow, deep breath.  


“I don’t know… but not right here… like it’s supposed to be.”


	4. Specters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy monday, y'all.
> 
> In direct contrast to last week, this one is gonna be a monster chapter, both length- and content-wise.
> 
> Also, I didn't realize when I started out this installment that we'd spend so many chapters in the Zero Dawn facility. So whoops, but... it felt right to develop it as it has so far.
> 
> Anyway.
> 
> The title should tell you a lot about the feeling of this chapter.
> 
> Enjoy.

Talanah raised one eyebrow toward me, her shocked expression fading somewhat with it. I gestured dejectedly to the ground between us.  


“It was right here, before, I-I remember, but now there’s just this—”  


I stopped short as I stared down at the ground where I had dropped the voice recorder a moment ago… or more accurately, where I thought I had. No such item sat between Talanah and me. My heart rate began to accelerate as I whirled about, scanning every corner of the platform, even moving over to the railing and glancing over the edge, but the ground below was far too dark to make anything out.  


“Uh… what are you doing?”  


“I… there was a… another thing…” I said, whirling around toward her. “I was holding it right before you—hit me—did you see where it went?”  


Talanah stared back at me for a moment or two before slowly crouching down and grabbing something off the ground, holding it up toward me.  


“Just this rock.”  


I stared down at the grey chunk of stone in her hand for several long moments before I finally looked back up at her face to find her expression unreadable.  


“What did you think it was, Aloy?”  


I slowly began to shake my head, pressing my hands to my temples.  


“N-no, that… that…”  


Suddenly, I froze, lifting my head to look back up at her, my eyes widened.  


“That means it wasn’t real.”  


“That… would seem to be the case, yes.”  


“No, not… not the rock, itself,” I said quickly. “What I thought it was, what it said…”  


“The rock talked to you?”  


“No!” I growled, stomping my foot. “I thought I was holding one of those voice recording things, but if it wasn’t real…”  


“You’ve officially lost it?”  


I opened my mouth for a moment, before pointing a finger judgmentally, which only elicited a smirk from her.  


“It means that the recording I thought I heard wasn’t real, either.”  


“And what does that mean?”  


I whirled around, scanning the dark entrances to the former subfunction development areas, my jaw set.  


“It means that the box with all of those copies might still be here.”  


The sound of a clattering rock behind me drew my attention and I glanced back toward Talanah once again to find her wiping her hand on the side of her cloak.  


“So… time to get looking?”  


I nodded and she began to look around the room.  


“Where do we even start? This place is massive.”  


My eyes slowly settled on the large, glass window above us, the only one looking down over the central area of the facility.  


“Up there.”  


She followed my gaze, before turning back to me.  


“So how do we get up there?”  


“Follow me.”  


Without hesitation, I spun on my heel and hurried down one of the walkways off the central platform and glanced left and right before choosing the latter and walking confidently toward the former HEPHAESTUS lab entrance. As I reached the door, however, I found it firmly shut and without a glowing lock, like the one from moments ago.  


“Are you kidding me?!”  


I kicked the door in frustration and immediately winced at the pain that shot up my heel and toward my knee.  


“No crafty puzzles, this time?”  


I glanced back contemptuously at Talanah, who only gave me a smirk in response.  


“Doesn’t seem to be, no,” I replied. “You have any ideas how to open this door, this time?”  


Her eyes lit up as her posture straightened and she gestured for me to come toward her. Confusion twisted my features as I obeyed, coming to a stop beside her.  


“Does it need my help to—?”  


“Sort of, but mostly you will want to stand back.”  


I continued to stare at her in confusion for several moments before realization dawned on me and I took a few more steps behind her, just for good measure. Talanah drew her bow and one of her arrows, quickly drawing the string back as she aimed toward the upper right corner of the door. A moment later, she loosed the arrow, and as soon as it slammed into the metal surface, a loud whirring began to fill the air and I knew immediately what she was planning to do. A moment later, the tearblast exploded to a cacophony of sounds as they echoed about the enclosed space, prompting both of us to wince.  


“That was a little louder than I expected,” she admitted, glancing back at me.  


“Well, let’s hurry it up with the rest of your plan before we completely tip off all of Sunfall above us.”  


She rolled her eyes dramatically, but drew her second arrow and quickly launched it at the upper left corner of the door. As soon as the second arrow went off, the door sagged slightly, but didn’t open.  


“Alert: H-lock structural failure. Repeat: H-lock structural failure.”  


The crackling, synthetic voice seemed incredibly quiet in the aftermath of the explosions, but it only seemed to help confirm what Talanah was expecting.  


“And for the finale…”  


She turned back to me, slinging her bow over her shoulders and holding out a hand expectantly. I stared at her blankly for several moments before she sighed.  


“What have I suggested every time we encountered a problem, so far?”  


Realization finally dawned on me and I drew my sling from behind me, placing it in her waiting hand. As soon as I gave her one of the bombs from my ammunition pouch, I took even more steps behind her, placing my hands over my ears. She quickly drew the sling back, aiming carefully for the center of the door, before squeezing the button on the side of the bomb to arm it and releasing the sling. The glowing, yellow orb flew through the air in slow motion, it seemed, before it slammed into the metal barricade.  


The explosion from the bomb was even louder than either of the two arrows, and I still winced, even with my hands over my ears. Talanah physically, recoiled, however, letting out a cry of pain as she quickly placed her hands over her ears. Shortly after the echoes of the explosion began to fade, a terrible, metallic screeching filled the air.  


The synthetic voice from the facility was speaking, again, but I couldn’t hope to hear it over all of the other sounds. A moment later, however, I saw a light began to spill around the space where the door stood. The strip of light grew wider and wider until with a loud, body-shaking thud, the door fell to the floor, seemingly blown out of its place in the doorway.  


Talanah and I stood in silence for a few moments, staring at her handiwork, before we slowly turned to look at each other. She still held her hands gingerly over her ears, but slowly began to pull them away as a wide grin spread across her features.  


“I told you my plan was so much more fun.”  


I could only shake my head as we both began to laugh. She offered my sling back to me and I took it from her, sliding it back into its holder behind me.  


“Come on, if the Kestrels have somehow missed all of our noise so far, they definitely didn’t miss that.”  


“I think they heard that all the way out in Brightmarket, actually.”  


“Either way, we’ve got a lot less time than I’d like.”  


With that, we hurried through the open doorway, waving slightly against the cloud of dust that still hung in the air. Despite not being able to see, I pressed on, leading the way into the dark laboratory, only to come to a halt as a figure appeared before me, prompting me to reach for my spear. A moment later, it swung through the air, slicing across the figure’s throat, but they didn’t recoil or crumple; if anything, my spear felt as if it hadn’t hit anything, at all.  


The figure began to speak and I immediately froze, my hands tightening around the spear as my eyes widened.  


“…and this is HEPHAESTUS! As the name might tip you off…”  


My gaze fixed on the young woman with short dark hair who stood in the middle of the ruined facility, her appearance tinged with the blue-purple glow of the holographic projections, but otherwise as complete and put-together as I remembered she had been a thousand years ago.  


Talanah slowly came to a stop beside me, staring at the figure as well, for a few moments, before nudging me with her elbow.  


“Another one of those speaking journals?”  


I nodded slowly, swallowing painfully.  


“Y-yeah…”  


After several more seconds of listening to her speak, however, I forced myself to look away, storing my spear as I led Talanah farther into the facility.  


“Come on, we don’t have the time.”  


As I glanced toward the image of Margo, one more time, my Focus chimed in my ear. Part of the interface came to life before me, indicating that it had saved the recording. My lips drew into a thin line as I swiped it away, stepping past the still-talking image and glancing back at Talanah to find her just beginning to take her first step forward, eyes still glued to the recording.  


As she finally began to pass it, however, the image seemed to glance back, turning from transparent to solid as the colorful glow faded, leaving a very real woman staring back at me with a sad smile. My breath hitched in my throat for a moment as I blinked rapidly, trying to focus on Talanah, once again, but all I could think about was how similar the two of them looked.  


“Who was she?”  


I shook my head quickly, taking a deep breath and looking back up at Talanah as I realized the holographic image had stopped talking, leaving the room in dark silence, once again.  


“One of the people who worked here,” I said. “Her name was Margo. She led the team who built HEPHAESTUS.”  


“It was made to build ‘robots?’” she asked, the word slightly awkward on her tongue.  


I nodded.  


“The machines that we know now: Watchers, Striders, Grazers… all of them were built by this subfunction.”  


Talanah let out an impressed sound, nodding slowly.  


“So… they built a machine to build other machines…”  


“We had to. No one was going to be alive to help rebuild the planet, otherwise.”  


She gave me a strange look, but I ignored it, quickly spinning on my heel to head farther into the facility.  


“This way.”  


As we made our way past some of the hulking pieces of ancient machinery and workstations, Talanah seemed to have more questions, each one pouring out of her unabated by my earlier response.  


“So if this was something that was supposed to help this GAIA, and its purpose—”  


“Her.”  


“What?”  


“GAIA, _her_ purpose.”  


“Oh… _her_ purpose,” Talanah continued, “then why would it make machines like Sawtooths, Ravagers, Thunderjaws, Stormbirds… all those ones that only seem to exist to kill us?”  


I paused for a moment at the first step of a set of stairs leading out of the back of the HEPHAESTUS laboratory, her question actually making the hair on the back of my neck stand up straight. She had a good point.  


“I… don’t know,” I said softly.  


“Because, like, you know, that wasn’t the point. Right?”  


I squeezed my eyes shut tightly, blocking out the voice that had responded to me.  


It was just Talanah. It was just Talanah.  


“No, it wasn’t.”  


I spared a glance over my shoulder, but the familiar dark-haired woman in the Nora outlander clothing stood behind me, her hands braced on her hips as she stared vacantly back at me.  


“The Derangement,” she said slowly. “It changed something.”  


I nodded.  


“The question is: why did that happen, at all?”  


Talanah shivered, rubbing her hands up and down her arms.  


“I hope we get some answers when we find this box.”  


“We can certainly hope…”  


I led the way up the set of rickety stairs that groaned and threatened to give way with each step, but we made it to the top without any close calls or injuries. As we stepped onto the walkway outside, I spared a glance to the right, gazing through the slightly dirty and hazy window into the room beyond. A flickering image of a woman in a flowing dress with a long, dark ponytail stood in the center of the space for a moment, only for her to disappear as soon as I had seen her.  


A tight feeling appeared in my chest, and I swallowed painfully against it, but I didn’t have long to wrestle the feeling down before Talanah grabbed my arm and yanked me toward the ground insistently. I staggered slightly, glancing over at her only for her to practically drag me to the ground with her entire body weight.  


“What?” I hissed.  


“We’re not alone.”  


My blood turned to ice as I quickly scrambled to a crouched position against the guard rail of the walkway, pressing myself up against it as Talanah had before taking a deep breath and peeking over the top. No obvious signs of motion came from the room below, and I frowned slightly.  


“I don’t see anyone,” I whispered, turning back to her.  


“I saw motion on the far side,” she countered, “heading toward the side opposite the door we entered.”  


Just as I opened my mouth to reply, the synthetic voice sounded from above us, much louder now that we were closer to the ceiling.  


“Alert: area inaccessible. Elevators non-operational. Stairwells have collapsed.”  


I froze mid-motion, my gaze locked on Talanah’s before I forced my mouth shut.  


“I don’t think we triggered that.”  


She shook her head in response. I spared one last glance over the guard rail before ducking into cover and glancing back at Talanah, nodding further along the walkway.  


“We have to keep going,” I whispered, “but let’s keep it quiet.”  


She nodded and gestured for me to go ahead. I shifted my position before taking a deep breath and setting out as quickly as I dared along the metal walkway, taking extra care to roll my feet with each step to try to minimize the actual footfall of each one.  


By the time we rounded a bend in the walkway, I hadn’t seen any other signs of who or what Talanah had seen earlier, so I pressed onward, heading farther along the large window outside the old office until we came to a doorway with the doors frozen open. Something made me hesitate before them, once again, but I pressed onward, pushing past the hair standing up on the back of my neck and the cold feeling that had fallen over me. As I stepped through the doorway, however, the feeling became much more founded.  


In a blink, the world shifted from the darkened ruins of the facility to a bright, gleaming, new version of the facility. Immediately, the sounds of many people moving about and speaking filled the air, causing me to jump as I came to a halt. I tried to rub my eyes with the heels of my hands, but as I pulled them away, the facility had not changed, once again. Something bumped into me from behind and I whirled to face it, letting out a yelp of surprise. Margo stared back at me, confusion on her face as she shifted the box in her hands.  


“What’s the matter, Elisabet?” she asked.  


“I—I, uh…”  


I cleared my throat, shaking my head quickly and squeezing my eyes shut. When I opened them again, the image of the woman before me seemed different for a split second, her hair longer and her clothes—wrong—but just as I noticed she was different, the image of Margo returned, once again.  


“You forget something? Still need to check in with Samina?”  


I shook my head again.  


“Uh, yeah, we should… we should find her.”  


Margo nodded, shifting the box in her hands, once again, clearly straining somewhat under its weight.  


“Can we, like, get moving then? This thing is hurting my hands.”  


I nodded, turning back to the room at large and glancing over the railing of the catwalk. The people below were rushing about, most at an actual run, as they threw various items into boxes and turned off workstations. Through the sea of commotion, however, I spotted a point of bright blue just entering through a set of doors on the far side, one hand quickly dancing over the screen of a handheld device as a man beside her spoke quickly and she simply nodded in response.  


With a deep breath in through my nose, I led the way farther along the walkway, eventually coming to the set of stairs that led down to the lower level of APOLLO. As we stepped through the doorway from the stairwell, I suddenly realized that the room had changed, once again. All of the sounds of people moving about, talking, yelling, and generally being busy, was gone, along with all of the actual people. The room was as bright and clean as ever, though, and the juxtaposition was making my palms cold and clammy with sweat.  


A “huh” from behind me prompted me to whirl around, only to find Margo standing just inside the doorway, as well, looking around the empty space.  


“Guess she’s not here,” she said, shrugging. “Wanna drop off these storage drives with the rest, then?”  


I could only nod, my tongue feeling as if it had swollen to the exact size of the inside of my mouth.  


“I think it was with Travis, last. He said something about HADES needing another few of ‘em.”  


Margo nodded toward another doorway to her right and I began to move toward it when a loud bang from behind me prompted me to jump a foot in the air, whirling around toward it at the same time. The room was still just as empty as ever, however I could have sworn I caught movement amidst the towering server columns in the other part of APOLLO across from the actual offices.  


“Who could that be?”  


I glanced over at Margo to see her curiously staring in the same direction, chewing the inside of her cheek slowly.  


“I thought everyone was gone from here, already.”  


“G-gone?”  


She nodded.  


“I mean, we should get going soon, too, unless we want to end up food for Faro deathbots.”  


My blood ran cold as Margo turned to look over at me, something—off—in her expression.  


“We need to get going.”  


With that, she turned and began to lead the way toward the other doorway she had indicated before. I numbly followed her, squeezing my hands into tight fists before relaxing them over and over in an attempt to try to settle the trembling that had set in my fingers. I glanced down at myself, trying to see how noticeable the motion was, and paused for a moment. The clothes I was wearing were wrong. They were colorful, seemingly made of silk.  


Why was my hair so long?  


Just then, a frustrated growl from up ahead brought my attention up from myself to find Margo standing in front of a doorway, waving her hand at the holographic lock, but nothing was happening.  


“How come these worked for you but not me?”  


She turned back to me, sighing.  


“Try the other way, I guess.”  


I slowly turned back toward the other room where we had just heard the sound, only to find a figure was now standing in the center of it, just before the massive computer module in the center. My feet slowly propelled me toward them, even as my mind screamed to stop. The figure was standing with their back to me, but the outline looked incredibly familiar.  


Just as I stepped through the large doorway into the APOLLO data storage room, a voice crackled in my ear, seemingly through my Focus. It was unintelligible at first, but slowly seemed to grow clearer, until I could make out what it was saying.  


“Elisabet—danger.”  


Danger?  


Just then, the figure ahead of me began to move and I came to a halt. They turned in place until they were now facing me, and I felt as if my heart had come to a sudden, jarring stop. Samina stared back at me, her skin ashen and pale as I noted how her eyes appeared to be glazed over; her lips were missing most of their color, as well. She had the appearance of someone who—oh no.  


Hot tears began to form in the corners of my eyes as I slowly shook my head.  


“No, you… you can’t… that’s not…”  


“Fair?” the image croaked.  


“Nothing ever is.”  


The deep voice from my left prompted me to whirl around toward it, the feeling of dread somehow growing even stronger at the sight of the hulking man with the large beard, most of the skin on the left side of his face burnt with a seemingly melted texture.  


“Yet,” another voice chimed in, prompting me to whirl to my right, where an elderly woman, her fur and leather clothing stained dark red over her chest, stood, staring back at me with glassy, vacant eyes, “here _you_ are.”  


“So how can you cry about _fair_?”  


I turned back to face forward, once again, to find more figures had joined Samina, all of them showing various shades of pale or with blue lips. All of them stared at me with the same eyes, though. My heart had apparently started beating, once again, as it began to pound in my ears, my chest heaving with each panicked breath.  


“All of you… stop…”  


The group of Alphas slowly began to step forward, their eyes unblinking and fixed on me.  


“Stop…”  


Suddenly, I found myself with something in my hands, my left hand wrapped tightly around a smooth, round piece of wood and my right grasping a thin, but strong, piece of rope. The tip of the arrow nocked to the bow moved from person to person as I found myself slowly stepping backward.  


“Stop… please…”  


The strange voice continued to sound in my ear, but I was unable to pay attention to it as one of the figures suddenly let out a bloodcurdling scream and charged at me. I could just make out the blonde haircut of Travis before my arrow loosed toward him. The tip slammed into his right eye, immediately causing him to crumple and fall to the ground in a limp heap. Some of the others began to run at me, as well, and I found another arrow held to my bow almost immediately.  


I loosed two more arrows toward Patrick and Ayomide, who also crumpled and fell to the ground. Samina suddenly lifted her hand toward me and I only had a moment to take in the image of a gun in it before I dove to my right behind one of the server towers. The sound of a bullet ricocheting off some surface near me caused me to flinch away from it, as I suddenly held the hunting rifle in my hands even more tightly.  


I glanced across the open ground to see Margo hiding behind the opposite server tower, her appearance much more alive, but she was wearing strange clothes, once again. She glanced toward me and I saw her lips move, but I couldn’t hear any actual words. I didn’t have long to try to figure out what it was, however, as the sound of a bullet ricocheting off the server tower only a foot or two from my head prompted me to scramble to my left  


I used one hand to help anchor myself as I swung around the end of the server tower, only to come to a screeching halt as I was confronted with the image of the severely burnt Rost pointing his drawn bow at me. He seemed to hesitate for a moment, which was just enough for me to raise the rifle and squeeze the trigger.  


The image staggered backward for a moment as a dark, red hole appeared in the center of his forehead. A trickle of blood began to run from it as he sank to his knees and then toppled forward onto the ground. My pulse was pounding in my throat, making it hard to breathe or swallow, as I clumsily ejected the spent casing from the rifle’s chamber and slammed the bolt back into place.  


Just like Mom taught me.  


A shout broke me out of my momentary trance and I glanced to the left to find the image of Samina aiming the pistol at me from the other end of the row between the server towers, her eyes almost entirely black, it seemed.  


I ducked forward as the gunshot echoed about the room, followed shortly thereafter by the ping of the ricocheting bullet. More voices began to join hers as I lifted the rifle at the ready, aiming wildly around me for anyone else to charge or threaten me with some kind of weapon. I caught sight of another dark figure near the computer module in the center of the room, but I didn’t have time to take it in, fully, before another pistol rapport from my left prompted me to dash forward, ducking down the next aisle ahead of me. As I raced toward the far end, the image of Samina slowly walked into view, weapon at the ready, and I had a split second to lift my rifle slightly and squeeze the trigger.  


She staggered, looking down at her chest, where a dark, red patch had appeared and began to grow. When she looked back up at me, her eyes suddenly cleared, returning to their normal color, and I immediately felt a wave of nausea roll over me. As Samina tumbled forward, another figure appeared behind her and I quickly reloaded my weapon, raising it toward them.  


“Wait, wait, wait! Stop!”  


I froze in place, staring past the metal tip before me at the image of Margo with her hands raised, except… it wasn’t Margo. Something was different. She was different. When did she grow her hair out?  


“Please, just… put the bow down.”  


I blinked in confusion.  


Bow?  


But I had a rifle.  


As I glanced down at my hands, once again, I found that she was right. It wasn’t an old hunting rifle, but a bow made from wood and metal parts, an arrow nocked and drawn tightly in my hands. As I blinked another time, the room grew much darker, the metal of the server towers dulled and partially destroyed by years of disuse and water slowly dripping onto them. I turned my attention back to the woman before me as I slowly lowered my weapon.  


She breathed a sigh of relief and ran her hands over her face.  


“By the Sun, Aloy, that… that was close.”  


I nodded as I returned the arrow to my quiver and slung the bow back over my shoulders, noting how badly my fingers were shaking as I did.  


“At first they didn’t seem to recognize you, but then, once you shot that first one…”  


The image of the seemingly still-dead Travis charging at me sent a shiver down my spine and I folded my arms tightly over my chest, rubbing my upper arms slightly as I did.  


“I think we got the last of them. You were right, though.”  


Confusion creased my face as I paused my rubbing motion, focusing on Talanah, once again.  


“About what?”  


“The Kestrels.”  


She gestured to the ground between us and my gaze travelled down to where Samina had fallen a moment ago. Instead of her, however, the body of an armored Kestrel lay face-down before Talanah, a bow lying beside him. My eyes widened slightly as I whirled around, glancing back toward the aisle where I had seen the image of Rost, noticing the hints of the feathered helmet of another Kestrel just beyond the end of the server tower.  


“There’s bound to be more coming, though,” Talanah continued. “We should try to find that box as soon as possible.”  


“Yeah… yeah, we should,” I said slowly, finally turning back to her.  


“Think it’s in here?”  


“Something tells me it’s not.”  


“Some _thing_?”  


I looked back at Talanah to see her regarding me with a strange expression.  


“Well, I’m some _one_ and I’m saying that it’s probably not. Does that work?”  


She continued to stare back at me for a few moments before sighing, throwing her arms up to either side of her in defeat.  


“Then where do we go next?”  


“I have an idea.”  


I motioned for her to follow as I spun on my heel and moved back down the aisle between the server towers. At the intersection with the vertical aisle, I took the corner sharply, forcing myself to not look toward the body on the ground just to my left, but instead gave a quick glance back to make sure Talanah was following; she was about halfway down the aisle behind me, but still moving. I turned back to the aisle I had just entered and moved quickly down it toward the outer wall of the room, scanning the metal surface before me for a moment before heading to the right. As I reached a corner in the wall where it turned to the left to head back toward the APOLLO offices and the stairwell we had descended earlier, I placed my hand on the metal surface, using it to help myself swing around the corner.  


As I did, I came to a stop, staring up at the top half of a ladder leading up to another walkway overhead.  


“Bingo…”  


I glanced back to find Talanah coming to a stop beside me, a curious expression on her face. Her confusion didn’t lessen when I pointed to the remnants of the ladder, however.  


“What about it?”  


“It’s a back way.”  


“To where?”  


“To where we need to go.”  


She gave me an admonishing look and I couldn’t help but grin as I stepped forward, tensing myself before leaping toward the lowest rung of what remained of the ladder. Thankfully, it held under my weight as I grabbed hold, although an immediate sense of soreness spread across my shoulders and I grimaced slightly. I could clearly feel every inch of the scar across my back, and I squirmed slightly at the feeling, but I was quickly able to brace my feet against the wall before me, to help relieve some of the weight and help haul myself up the few feet until I was standing on the raised walkway.  


A quick glance behind me showed Talanah doing the same thing, easily hauling herself up the half-ladder. I stepped out of the way, rolling my shoulders and twisting my back slightly in an attempt to alleviate the tight, sore feeling that had set in from the physical exertion. As soon as I heard Talanah let out a sigh from behind me, and glanced back to confirm that she had joined me on the walkway, I nodded toward what appeared to be a dark tunnel ahead of us. She gave me a look with raised eyebrows and I smirked.  


“Afraid of the dark?”  


She sighed, shaking her head as I led the way into the almost pitch blackness ahead of us. Thankfully, the total darkness didn’t last long, and we soon found ourselves standing behind the final row of server towers. The lights of a maintenance workstation flickered and danced against the darkness in the distance, but my eyes were set on the doorway frozen open only a few yards ahead of me.  


As soon as I stepped into the doorway, the world seemed to flicker and flash before me, bright lights assaulting me one moment before returning to near total darkness the next. I squeezed my eyes shut tightly for a moment before slowly opening them to find that everything had settled into darkness, once again. Opening my eyes fully, I began to lead the way through the doorway, but I quickly realized that something was off, once again. It may have been dark, but the signs of a thousand years of decay and abandonment were not present. Everything was clean and perfect, albeit dark.  


Huge stacks of discarded equipment and boxes were piled in the center of the hallway to my right, though, prompting me to move forward toward the next door. The hallway beyond was also blocked to my right, and when I tried to see around all of the equipment, I couldn’t even make out hints of lights in the distance. Instead, I turned my attention back to yet another doorway ahead of me. I could clearly see the next several were open, as well, the displays above them indicating that we were quickly heading into an entirely different department within Zero Dawn.  


Before entering the door labelled “H101-3,” I happened to glance back. The outline of a person behind me told me my companion was still following, however the darkness hid her exact details. Something told me she would not be as I expected, either, though. She came to a stop behind me, clearly somewhat surprised by my sudden stop.  


“What gives?”  


I clenched my hand tightly around my cloak, noting that the fabric also felt different beneath my fingers—sleeker, softer—before letting out a heavy breath through my nose.  


“Just making sure you hadn’t tripped on anything in the dark.”  


A soft snorting laugh came from her and she shifted her stance just enough that the light from the door overhead revealed the short haircut and distinctly non-tribal clothing.  


“I’m not that blind, y’know.”  


I offered a quiet laugh in response, but it felt incredibly forced. To cover it up, I quickly spun on my heel and stepped through the next doorway. Almost immediately, another figure appeared before me, and I half-expected him to be running full tilt in my direction, once again, but instead he remained in place, shining with the same light as the workstations and door signs.  


“Welcome—to HADES.”  


The name alone sent a shiver down my spine and I swore I could almost feel the static crackle of electricity running up my left arm before I forced myself to look away and step past the recording of Travis.  


“His voice… that… that’s some accent.”  


I glanced back to find the opening of the door now partially collapsed and covered in the same dusty rock formations as the ruined facility had been, Talanah partially lit by the holographic recording of Travis as she stared up at his face curiously.  


“It’s an old one,” I replied.  


“You don’t say?”  


She gave me an admonishing look and I grinned. With one last glance toward the still-talking image, she moved past it, following me farther around the circular former laboratory.  


“So wait a minute… this is where they—the Old Ones—made that machine mind that wanted to kill you?”  


I nodded, sighing heavily.  


“It would seem so.”  


“But… I heard some of what he was just saying,” Talanah continued, gesturing back to the image. “It’s purpose was to raze the world if GAIA failed, which it seemed to also be trying to do, but why would something programmed to kill everything want to kill just _you_ so badly?”  


I shrugged, coming to a stop as we reached a section of the lab that appeared to have almost entirely caved in at some point.  


“I mean… I did stop it from doing what it wanted, in the end,” I said. “Maybe it was just always afraid I would.”  


“Okay, but… how did it know _you_ would do it and not… I don’t know, me, or whoever?”  


I nodded slowly, turning back to face her as Talanah came to a stop, as well, bracing her hands on her hips.  


“You remember what I showed you, besides those two—speaking journals—from the military general and Elisabet Sobeck?”  


She nodded slowly.  


“A ‘re-instantiation’ of—”  


“Of the person who purposely built the AI that would actively work toward goals the opposite of HADES’… and said AI tried to possibly kill it once, already.”  


Talanah stared vacantly at me for several moments longer before a shiver wracked her entire body.  


“This is making my head hurt.”  


I simply smirked before turning and scanning the darkness of the cave in section ahead of us, eying the small chasm between two giant slabs of rock that appeared to be our only way forward. Nothing appeared to be immediately shifting or moving amidst the rock upon first glance, so I turned back to Talanah.  


“This seems to be the only way through, now.”  


“Oh, is it?” she shot back.  


“I mean, you can head back the way we came and look for another way.”  


Talanah grumbled something under her breath, but approached the chasm, where I had begun to step into the opening. It was just narrow enough that I had to turn sideways, carefully sliding forward while listening for any creaking, groaning, or any other sounds that the yards of heavy rock overhead was about to come crashing down on me. Thankfully, no such thing happened and I stumbled into the wider room beyond just as another holographic image of a former team member popped into existence.  


“Welcome to ELEUTHIA, the crown and king of GAIA’s subordinate functions.”  


I stared blankly at the image of Patrick Brochard-Klein for a few moments before the sounds of scuffling and rocks skittering across the ground drew my attention back to Talanah, who was just exiting the rocky passageway between HADES and ELEUTHIA.  


“Okay, let’s not do that again,” she sighed, wiping her hands on her cloak before turning her attention to the speaking image. “Another crazy accent…”  


“The people who worked here came from all around the world,” I said. “It was all so different back then… and probably still is now.”  


“I mean, like… bigger as in the Forbidden West bigger or… more?”  


“More,” I replied, nodding. “Much, much more.”  


Talanah nodded slowly, but I could see her mind working in overdrive even as she stared blankly at the image of the ancient man telling her all about cloning and restarting the human race. Suddenly, she blinked several times and the usual clarity returned to her eyes.  


“Wait, everything he’s saying… it’s like that journal you showed me!” she said suddenly, pointing at the semi-transparent image. “A-about how you were—uh, you know—born.”  


I nodded, a tight feeling appearing in my chest as I found myself unable to look at either Talanah or the recording. As the sounds of Patrick’s voice came to a stop, however, I noticed that the figure out of the corner of my eye did not disappear. I carefully glanced toward it to find a very real-looking version standing in his place, eying me up and down.  


“And to think you voted down the Lightkeeper Protocol.”  


My teeth ground as I forcefully turned my attention back to Talanah, who still looked lost in thought.  


“Come on, I highly doubt the box is down here.”  


She snapped out of her reverie, but instead gave me an odd look.  


“Why’s that?”  


“I mean, I don’t know why it would have been left down here, for one, but also… do you see it?”  


She continued to stare back at me with the same, unreadable explanation for a few moments before shaking her head.  


“No, I guess I don’t.”  


With that, I turned and began to lead the way around the circular room, glancing in toward the center where several large, glass tubes still sat. For a moment, I could have sworn I saw a shape in one of them, but as I blinked, it was gone. I forcefully rubbed my eyes with the heels of my hands before taking a deep breath and walking past all of the incubation pods. As I reached the bottom of a set of stairs winding around the outer curvature of the room, I glanced back to find Talanah standing before one of the incubation pods, one hand outstretched and her fingers running slowly over the dusty glass surface.  


This was all so new for her… I kept forgetting.  


Finally, she pulled her hand away, turning toward me and noticing how far ahead I had walked before jogging to catch up.  


“All of this… they… they figured out how to… skip the need for mothers,” she panted as she came to a stop behind me. “These were machine wombs, weren’t they?”  


“They are,” I nodded.  


“Are?” she repeated, raising one eyebrow.  


“Like you said…”  


“Oh, right, sorry,” she said quickly, but I was already shaking my head.  


“It’s… I’ve had my time to come to terms with it, already,” I said. “Don’t worry about me.”  


She looked like she wanted to say more, but remained silent.  


“Come on, that office—uh, room—isn’t too far from here.”  


Without waiting for her response, I turned and started up the stairs. When we finally reached the top, I glanced both ways along the walkway. A closed door sat to our right, the holographic lock missing from its surface, while another appeared to be left frozen up a little ways down to the left.  


“This was all so much easier before…”  


“What?”  


“Nothing.”  


I pointed to the left before glancing back at Talanah.  


“This way.”  


Even as I led the way down the walkway, I glanced back to find Talanah waving her hand over the center of the door at the top of the stairs, a frown tugging at her lips.  


“That door’s broken.”  


She glanced over at me, sighing.  


“Really?”  


“There’s a reason I didn’t try it.”  


She made sounds in mocking, but moved away from the door, following me farther along the walkway.  


“So where are we going, all-knowing Aloy?”  


“There should be an elevator somewhere up here…”  


As I turned back to the hallway ahead of us, however, I found myself staring at the brightly-lit version that had most definitely not seen a thousand years of abandonment and disuse.  


“Ah… fuck…”  


I glanced over my shoulder to find that I was not alone, again, however I was also not accompanied by who I expected, either. Samina looked up from the device in her hands, sighing.  


“Some days I feel like this just might work,” she said, “and others… well, I start to wonder if we’re fighting a losing battle.”  


My lips pulled into a thin line as she tapped one more button on the tablet’s screen before letting her hands fall to her sides, loosely holding the device beside her, as well.  


“How’s GAIA?”  


I shrugged.  


“We can find out just up ahead.”  


“And here I wondered why you were inviting me alone to your office.”  


I gave her a look with raised eyebrows and she simply smirked.  


“Stairs or elevator?”  


I glanced back at the doors nearby and nodded toward them.  


“I don’t trust the stairs.”  


A soft snorting sound came from Samina, but I simply smirked and walked over to the panel, hitting the call button. As I waited for the car to reach our floor, I turned back to her, folding my arms over my chest.  


“It’s been a while since I’ve been up here. Will be nice to see how the other half lives.”  


I shook my head, sighing.  


“Samina…”  


“I know, I’m just kidding.”  


I looked back up at her to find her flashing me one of the first sincere smiles I had seen in months, and I couldn’t help but slowly return it with one of my own, a warm feeling appearing in my chest. Just then, however, the ding of the elevator prompted me to turn around, finding the doors just sliding open to reveal the car beyond.  


“Ride’s here.”  


“No, stop!”  


Just as I went to step inside, a pair of arms wrapped around me from behind and violently yanked me backwards. My center of balance was thrown completely off and I found myself falling to the ground almost immediately. I landed on top of another body to a loud grunt from both of us, and almost immediately the world began to flicker around me, once again. After several seconds of trying to orient myself, the world settled on the dark, ruined atmosphere as it had when I ascended the stairs, moments ago.  


A pained wheezing from behind me prompted me to glance over my shoulder to find most definitely not Samina behind me.  


“What… what were you… thinking?”  


I quickly tried to scramble away from the figure, but they held tightly to me, holding me in place. After several seconds of struggle, I finally relented, falling still as Talanah let out a heavy sigh.  


“Promise me you’re not about to try to walk into an empty shaft, once again.”  


“I… I promise.”  


“Do you?”  


“I’m… I’m sure, Talanah.”  


“Oh good, you actually called me by the right name…”  


Her grip around me finally relented and I rolled off of her, coming to a stop on my hands knees. We both remained still, breathing heavily, until I spared a glance over at her. She was staring up at the ceiling with her lips pulling into a thin line.  


“Aloy… I… I don’t understand… what’s happening to you,” she said slowly, “but I hope once we leave this place… it stops.”  


I nodded slowly, hanging my head.  


“Me, too.”


	5. The MacGuffin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Monday y'all.
> 
> Here it is, the moment you've all been waiting for in this intro that suddenly became the entire first act of this story.
> 
> It's long, but let me give you a hint: we're not out of Zero Dawn by the end of this chapter.
> 
> See you at the end.

With a few more deep breaths, I finally forced myself back to my feet, offering a hand to Talanah who accepted my help to pull herself to her feet, once again. I glanced back toward the open doors to the elevator shaft to find not a waiting car, as I had seen moments ago, but the dark, gaping void of the empty shaft. I waited for Talanah to slowly approach the edge and glance around the inside before approaching, not wanting to trigger another moment of panic for her.  


“So which way do we need to go?” she asked as I came to a stop behind her. “Up or down?”  


“Up.”  


She held onto the doorframe before leaning into the shaft slightly, turning to look above us and squinting slightly.  


“Looks like there might be a way to climb up.”  


“That’s good.”  


“Follow me.”  


I opened my mouth to utter a quip about the sudden change in roles, but suddenly thought better of it and closed it, nodding even though Talanah wasn’t looking. She braced herself on the lip of the doorway before taking a deep breath and leaping off it to her left. A loud grunt and a bang echoed from inside the shaft and I approached the open doorway, leaning inside it to find Talanah hanging from a yellow, metal bar fixed to the wall to my left.  


“Okay there?”  


“Just fine!” she shot back, huffing before shimmying along the bar and glancing over my head.  


A moment later, she pushed herself off the bar and the wall, sailing through the air overhead until she caught something just above me, prompting a small shower of dust and rocks to fall on my head and I stepped back into the hallway, brushing them off and wiping at the small bit that had fallen in my eyes, as well. When I could see without blinking constantly, again, I moved to the open doorway.  


Talanah’s head poked into the shaft over me, most likely from the door the next floor up, and she smirked.  


“See? Easy.”  


I sighed, shaking my head, before taking a step or two back from the open lip. The jump to the first metal bar wasn’t too difficult, but catching hold and holding on through the tight, uncomfortably feeling in my shoulders was another story. I grit my teeth, though, and forced myself to keep moving, sliding along the bar as Talanah had done until I could glance over my shoulder to find the lip to the next doorway a little ways above me.  


The other woman was nowhere to be seen in the opening, but I figured she couldn’t have gone far, yet, so I took a deep breath and braced myself to make the leap, as well. As I pushed off the wall, however, I immediately felt my right foot slip on the ancient metal surface and I could feel that I did not have anywhere near as much power as I had hoped, or expected. A loud curse escaped me as I tried to twist myself in the air to grab onto anything other than the doorway above me, but nothing else immediately presented itself.  


With a sinking feeling in my stomach, I began to fall through the air.  


Just as I was resigned to trying to catch myself on the doorway below, something wrapped around my outstretched wrists and my fall came to a sudden, jerking stop. Another loud curse echoed about the shaft, but this one came from above me. I glanced up to find Talanah in the doorway, seemingly lying on her stomach as she reached over the edge to hold tightly to me.  


I didn’t immediately start to drag her into the shaft, after me, so I tried to twist my legs until I could brace them on the wall, again. Just as I did, however, Talanah’s grip on my right arm began to slip and she suddenly let go. A moment of panic came over me until she quickly took my left hand with both of hers. We held there for a moment or two, almost as if to make sure she wouldn’t let go, again, before I felt her begin to tug on my arm and I started to propel myself up with my feet and my free hand, as well.  


Soon, I was able to reach up and grab the lip of the open doorway, and pull myself up with some more strength. Talanah continued to pull on my left arm until I finally rolled up and over the lip of the doorway and into the room beyond. Each of us lay on our backs for a moment or two before I began to drag myself to a sitting position. Talanah was still lying spread-eagle as I looked over at her, but her head was turned toward me.  


“That’s… twice… I’ve saved you in the past five minutes,” she panted. “You owe me.”  


I grinned sheepishly.  


“Sorry…”  


“Don’t… apologize…” she sighed, shaking her head as she began to drag herself to a sitting position, as well. “Let’s just try to find safer routes for a little bit, okay?”  


My grin quickly turned into a smirk as I began to get to my feet.  


“Danger’s my middle name, you know.”  


“It should be Trouble.”  


I gave her a glare and she laughed before also clambering to her feet, groaning as she shook her hands out to either side of her.  


“So… where are we now?”  


I slowly turned in place, taking in the dilapidated hallway before my eyes settled on a door across from us and I froze. My palms grew slick with cold sweat as I stared at the glowing sign over the door. It was a circle with a single-leafed plant growing in the center of it, but I had seen it too many times to forget what it meant.  


“This is it…”  


“Really? This hallway?”  


“No,” I sighed, pointing. “There.”  


Talanah turned to follow my gesture and let out a soft “oh.”  


“That’s the symbol from that journal.”  


“It is.”  


We both remained still and silent for a few moments before we slowly turned to face each other. Talanah slowly gestured ahead of her.  


“You first.”  


I took a deep breath in through my nose before slowly trudging across the ruined hallway to the open doorway. As I approached the dark opening, I paused, squeezing my fingers into a tight fist as I fought to control the incredible shaking in them. Finally, when I realized that it wasn’t going to stop, I took a step inside the room.  


The first glance around the darkened space immediately brought an overwhelmingly tight feeling to my chest, to the point where I almost felt like I couldn’t breathe, like a pair of arms had wrapped around me from behind in a crushing embrace. Finally, when I forced my lungs to take a breath, the feeling relaxed somewhat.  


I could easily see everything as it should have been, clean and in working order, laid about the room, but something told me this wasn’t another vision. Some of the tables and workstations had been knocked over and covered by years of rock formation and fungal growth, but I could immediately remember the purpose each had served. As I slowly walked up to one of the benches directly across from the door and slowly ran my fingers over the workstation before glancing up at the large, dirty window before me. I could make out something glowing inside, and my eyes widened.  


I quickly took off to my right, moving as quickly as I dared through the chaotic landscape of the laboratory, only pausing for a brief moment to take in the large, metallic orb set against the outer wall, the lights that had once danced about it long gone dark. My jaw clenched, once again, as I turned away from the former workstation and pressed on toward the main door at the end of the circular laboratory. As I approached, I quickly reached toward the holographic lock, twisting it as I had done with countless others, but this time it did not spin and turn green.  


I frowned, trying again, but it remained as still and blue as ever.  


“No… no, not now,” I muttered.  


I tapped my Focus, bringing the interface to life and scanning the door, itself. Immediately, a name popped up in the center of it and my eyes locked onto it.  


“E. Sobeck. Alpha Prime.”  


I quickly forced myself to look away and instead turn to the information box that had appeared to the right of the sign.  


“Door system malfunctioning. Cause: unknown.”  


“That’s not fucking helpful…”  


I let out a low growl before trying to navigate through the various sub-menus of the information box, but all of them seemed to come back to the same basic idea: the door was stuck, and the facility’s system had no idea why, or how to fix it. With a frustrated huff, I closed the interface, once again, staring at the door in silence. Finally, I noticed something about it, namely that a thin line of light glowed just above the lock in the center. I stepped closer, reaching up toward the light, and as I did, I found that it was actually a small crack.  


The door was stuck slightly ajar.  


“Time to get old-fashioned…”  


I took a step back, reaching behind me and drawing my spear from under my cloak and raising it toward the crack in the door. The blade easily wedged between the two halves, and with a bit of wiggling, I managed to work it until it filled the entire crack.  


“Here goes nothing…”  


With a grunt of exertion, I leaned all of my weight on the shaft of the spear, the blade in the crack forcing the two slides slowly further and further apart. Suddenly, with a horrible, metallic grinding sound, the doors seemed to come loose and I staggered forward as they slid open. Once I had regained my footing, I glanced back toward the doorway to see Talanah standing a few feet away, her hands over her ears. As she slowly pulled them away, she glanced over at me.  


“Well, that was something.”  


“How else are you going to get a stuck door open?”  


She raised one eyebrow at me and I sighed, swinging my spear behind me and returning it to the holsters on my back.  


“This was slightly quieter.”  


She laughed as I turned back to the open doorway, taking a deep breath and stepping in front of it, once again. The room beyond was bathed in a strange mix of purple and orange light, but for a moment it flashed blue and yellow. As I blinked, I also could have sworn I saw a figure standing in the center of the open space.  


Instead, when I focused on the same spot, my eyes widened.  


Something else sat in the middle of the room.  


A large metal box.  


My feet were in motion before I could fully comprehend I was moving, my heart beat pounding in my ears as my chest heaved with each breath. As I drew alongside it, my hand immediately sought out the square, glass panel on the side facing me. At first, nothing happened, and a feeling of panic began to set in. I quickly pulled my hand away, gripping the sleeve of my cloak with the opposite one and using it to wipe at the screen for several seconds.  


Once the dust and debris had been cleared away, I reached toward the glass, only to hesitate in the last inch or two. All sound around me seemed to have been sucked away as I closed the final gap, the cool, ancient glass pressing firmly against my warm skin. This time, the screen sprang to life, a green line slowly running from the top to the bottom until an electronic chime sounded from the panel, itself.  


I quickly glanced at the other, more rectangular panel beside the one where my hand sat to find it now showing a line of text.  


“Confirmed: Dr. Elisabet Sobeck.”  


A heavy, metallic clunk sounded from inside the crate, itself, as the internal locks disengaged and I pulled my hand away from the panel, noting how badly my fingers were shaking, once again. I forced myself to ignore them, however, as I gripped the handle beside the scanner tightly, my knuckles turning a bright white.  


With one last, heavy breath, I pulled up on it. A loud hiss escaped the crate as the airtight seal released for the first time in a thousand years, and I continued to pull up on the handle, switching to using both hands as the lid was heavier than I had expected. Finally, though, I managed to push the lid open until it sat at a vertical angle on the opposite side of the crate from me.  


My breath came in short, shaky rasps as I glanced down into the box at the several small piles of rectangular storage drives. The sound of footsteps slowly drawing nearer finally broke through the sound of my own heart beat and I glanced over my shoulder to find Talanah craning her neck to see past me into the box.  


“Is it… is it what we came for?”  


I slowly began to nod as my lips pulled into an uncontrollable smile. Her eyes widened and she quickly closed the gap to the box, moving around to the side to my left and looking down inside, as well.  


“These… these are all of those subfunctions… and GAIA?”  


I nodded.  


“Versions of them… as they were when Zero Dawn packed up to move them all to GAIA Prime.”  


Talanah let out a shaky sigh that quickly turned into laughter as I glanced over at her, once again.  


“These… by the Sun…” she managed, unable to form full sentences until she took a slow, deep breath. “These are all of them?”  


I reached into the box, pulling a few of the storage drives from within and tapping my Focus. It quickly scanned each of them, providing information and names for each one.  


“This is part of DEMETER… this one part of POSEIDON… HEPHAESTUS…”  


Talanah took each drive, turning it over in her hands before shaking her head slowly.  


“I can’t believe it… all of that work… the things that re-created the entire world… contained in such a small vessel.”  


“Big things come in small packages.”  


She gave me a curious look and I laughed.  


“It’s an old saying.”  


She couldn’t seem to help but laugh, either, as she carefully placed the storage drives back into the crate.  


“So, which ones are GAIA?”  


I glanced back into the box, scanning around with my Focus until I spotted one in particular, off to the right side, and I lifted the drive free of the rest. My heart leapt into my throat as the name and logo appeared over the top of the drive.  


“GAIA. 1.1.01. Drive 2 of 6.”  


“Hello, old friend…”  


With a heavy sigh, I turned it toward Talanah.  


“Here’s one.”  


She carefully held her hands out and I placed the drive in them. Her eyes remained wide as she stared down at the sleek, black drive in reverence.  


“So this is her…”  


“A piece, at least,” I said, nodding.  


“A-and APOLLO, that’s in here, too?”  


I quickly dug through the stacks until I found one of APOLLO’s drives, as well. When I held it up, a shiver ran through Talanah.  


“Part of all of the knowledge of our original society… saved in five of these tiny, black boxes.”  


We both laughed as we carefully placed them back in the larger crate and stood up straight, once again.  


“So, like you said, this is a huge box,” Talanah said finally, letting out a heavy sigh to try to calm herself down. “Think there’s an easier way to get these all out of here?”  


I glanced down into the crate and frowned slightly.  


“There’s more than I expected,” I remarked. “I was hoping we could just toss them into some of these…”  


I reached under my cloak and pulled out some burlap bags from where I had them secured to my belt.  


“But I don’t know if there’s enough room without making it incredibly obvious that we’re smuggling something out of here.”  


“There’s not another exit, either?”  


I slowly tapped my fingers on the edge of the crate as I stared vacantly at the lid of the crate for a moment before I suddenly snapped them, pointing to Talanah with my other hand.  


“I might know another way out of here.”  


She stared back at me for a few moments before shaking her head.  


“I was going to ask how but… I don’t know if it would actually make me feel better.”  


I shrugged.  


“It’s a solution, at least.”  


“That it is.”  


I glanced back toward the open door to the laboratory outside and nodded toward it.  


“Do you remember seeing any smaller crates out there or anything?”  


“Maybe. Let me go take a look.”  


Talanah made toward the door as I dug back into the crate, pulling the various drives out and organizing them on the desk nearby. My fingers continued to tremble as I worked, until finally ten neat piles sat beside each other. At the far left of the piles stood the tallest, with GAIA’s six drives standing over the others’ more typical three or four. With all of them now displayed side by side, however, I found myself having a similar reaction to Talanah’s.  


It seemed like so little for something so monumental.  


Just then, I heard footsteps enter the room and I froze, one hand slowly reaching toward the shaft of my spear beneath my cloak as I began to turn around.  


“You find something to—?”  


My words were cut off as something was suddenly thrust over my mouth. A strange, almost sweet taste filled my mouth as I felt the wet piece of cloth cover my nose, as well. I tried to twist away, but a strong grip appeared around my shoulders and I found myself unable to move in the grasp of someone who was much taller and stockier than Talanah. Regardless, I fought as hard as I could, even attempting to pull more of the fabric into my mouth to bite the hand holding it in place, but it seemed to have little effect.  


My eyelids felt heavy as my limbs began to lose function, but in a last ditch effort, I suddenly bent my left arm at the elbow before swinging my clenched fist back toward my attacker. Apparently I hit a sensitive spot as the figure let out a yelp and the grip around me weakened considerably. I quickly brought my left foot down on the inside of the attacker’s with as much strength and weight as I could muster, eliciting yet another cry of pain from the recipient.  


I threw my body weight forward, and found myself slipping from their grasp, even as they tried to grab my cloak. It did little except spin me around as I bent forward, the cloak easily flying up and over my head as I was left stumbling and staggering backward until I hit something roughly waist high and incredibly heavy. I nearly fell backward into the crate, but caught myself on the lid just in time, using it to hold me in a semi-seated position on its edge as I tried to blink away the blurriness that had fallen over the world before me.  


A human-shaped outline began to take form amidst the purple and orange light until I could finally make out the dark skin and the bright blue cords glowing against it.  


“Y-you…”  


Sylens straightened up, taking a deep breath as he shoved the rag in his hand back into one of his pockets, an intensely displeased expression settling into his features. I was sure something similar must have been on my face, as I could feel my jaw clench out of total, unrestrained fury.  


“Yes, me,” he began. “I knew you would not comply if I asked permission… and clearly I was right.”  


My eyes quickly flicked over to the storage drives on the desk and his gaze followed mine for a moment before returning to me, his jaw clearly working as he shifted his stance painfully.  


“You know what I have been after—what I have been searching for—for so long… and to think I got so close, only for one of you to ruin that chance once already…”  


I managed to finally push myself off the crate and to my feet, once again, but the world seemed to tilt around me and my knees still felt barely capable of holding my weight, let alone running or fighting. Just as the world began to settle, once again, however, I noticed that Sylens appeared to be much closer, and the next moment he had taken hold of my cloak, yanking me forward as I let out an unintelligible yelp. A moment later, he had spun me to the side before shoving me forward, forcing me to bend at the waist; I had a split second to realize that the surface of the desk was drawing closer, but I was unable to respond quickly enough and I smashed into the metal surface hard enough that bright lights began to flash before me, each one growing in strength before fading away just as quickly as it had appeared.  


Despite the bright spots taking up most of my vision and the pain seemingly splitting my skull in half, I threw myself backward against his grip, throwing my head back, as well. Somewhat thankfully, the back of my head did not collide with his, at all, but the force of the sudden motion appeared to unsteady him for a moment and I was able to drive my elbow back into his gut. Sylens’ hands disappeared from me a moment later and I took the chance to whirl around, although the combination of my unsteady knees and my foot catching on something on the floor nearly sent me tumbling to the ground. I managed to catch myself on the desk at the last second, throwing both arms out and using every ounce of strength I could muster in them to hold myself in an awkward crouched position until I could force my legs to function beneath me, once again.  


“Always the fighter…” Sylens sighed as I turned back to him, his dark silhouette easily visible against the purple lighting behind him, but the exact details of his face still remained difficult to make out. “Still, I knew I could count on you, Doctor Sobeck, to come back here. The draw of your precious creation was… too great.”  


I continued to glare at him as I straightened up, clenched my fingers into a fist before slowly relaxing them, hoping to feel the strength returning to them, but it was happening incredibly slowly.  


So… incredibly… slowly…  


“When I discovered there were additional copies of the GAIA program and its subfunctions that never made it to GAIA Prime, I found myself wondering what purpose that could have served. Were they intentionally left? Maybe, but that seemed redundant.”  


“Are you almost done sucking your own dick?”  


He paused, a mildly surprised expression crossing his face for a moment before he attempted to recover his composure.  


“I was simply trying to say that I was fascinated by the realization that the future influenced the past.”  


“Says who?”  


“Says the fact that you would have had no reason to believe they would be damaged, destroyed, or lost in the future, otherwise.”  


“Nobody trusted Ted,” I spat. “Didn’t take some ‘future sight’ to know that.”  


“Perhaps not…” Sylens shrugged, shifting his stance slightly, once again, “but it did prove invaluable.”  


Suddenly, the sound of something heavy falling in the other room drew both of our attentions, but while I simply glanced past him to the window with my eyes, Sylens had to turn to his right to see that nothing was actually in the doorway.  


I had my chance.  


I suddenly pushed off the desk, charging forward and lowering my shoulder. He heard my footsteps coming after only a few feet and whirled back around toward me. Just as I went to collide with him, he sidestepped, reaching out and grabbing my shoulders before throwing me past him. I staggered and stumbled over my own feet before I finally crashed to the floor, rolling across it for a few feet until I slammed into something hard that brought me to a stop.  


I lifted my head, quickly scanning for Sylens to find that he hadn’t followed me, but had instead moved closer to the desk in the center of the room.  


“Bastard…”  


He was now firmly between the storage drives and me. If I didn’t know better, I would say that he had planned that maneuver.  


“So…” he sighed, glancing down beside him and running his fingers over the various piles as I struggled to my feet, standing unsteadily for a moment or two before he lifted one of the storage drives from the desk and held it out for me to see. “I take it you know what this belongs to?”  


I glared past the drive at him until he finally replaced it on the desk with the others.  


“There is so much to learn from just one of these small devices,” he continued. “One can almost not even fathom what could be gained from all four.”  


“It could change the world.”  


He paused at that, nodding slowly before turning back to me.  


“It certainly could,” he replied, “but would they all believe it, like your companion did?”  


My heart began to pound in my ears, once again, as I quickly scanned about the room. There was no sign of Talanah through the windows in the laboratory outside, nor any sounds of her moving about, and a sinking feeling began to settle in my stomach.  


“What did you do to her?”  


“She is not of concern right now,” he snapped.  


“Then what is?”  


He reached down for one of the drives beside him, clearly taking one from a different pile than before, and held it up before him.  


“Show me a way to access the information of APOLLO.”  


I stared back at him for several long moments before I noticed that the drive had slowly slipped lower in his fingers.  


“You wouldn’t be so stupid,” I growled.  


“Would you?”  


Suddenly, the drive slipped another inch or two and I flinched, one hand involuntarily reaching out toward the drive before I stopped myself as he caught the small device between his fingers, a smirk twisting his lips.  


“So… what say you?”  


My jaw clenched for several long moments before I slowly tilted my head back ever so slightly and spit as forcefully as I could. The glob of saliva sailed an impressive distance between us, landing at almost the halfway mark, while Sylens simply watched it fall. He stared at the spot on the floor for several moments before sighing and slowly lifting his gaze to me, once again.  


“And here I thought I was speaking with a grown, intelligent woman,” he spat.  


“Doesn’t mean I have to take your shit,” I shot back.  


“Elisabet—”  


“What makes you so sure?”  


Sylens actually let out a single, hardy laugh and it sent a shiver running down my spine.  


“While you and Aloy may share almost one hundred percent of your genetics, she is most certainly not an exact copy…”  


“You really—”  


“And she most certainly would not have traumatic, reality-obfuscating visions of a place where she has never been, before.”  


My mouth hung open for several long moments before I clamped it shut, the heat in my face beginning to rise.  


“So don’t play me for a fool,” he continued quietly, “Elisabet.”  


“I mean… I think I already did.”  


He continued to glare at me before suddenly opening his fingers, the sleek, black storage drive falling between them. The world seemed to slow to a crawl as I suddenly burst forward, dashing across the open space between us as fast as I could. No matter how fast I moved, however, the drive fell faster. Finally, just as I was only a yard from Sylens, the device hit the ground, bouncing off the hard surface with the resounding ping of metal colliding with metal. A moment later, however, I collided with Sylens.  


This time, he had nowhere to move, and appeared to not be anticipating himself as my target, as I caught his eyes widen the split second before my full body weight rammed into him and shoved him backward. My motions still felt slightly out of my control, but in this instance, it seemed to help, somewhat, as I continued to force Sylens across the office until he rammed into the storage crate. He immediately toppled backward and I felt myself begin to fall on top of him, but I quickly pushed down with the heels of my hands against his torso and rolled off him to the left, preventing him from trying to take hold of me in any way.  


As I rolled off of the much larger man and the crate, I fell to the floor with a grunt of pain, my hip landing squarely on either metal or some rock formation. Either way, the pain was intense and immediate, but not quite reminiscent of a Strider’s hooves. My breath came in ragged pants as I laid on my back, staring up at the ceiling for a moment or two before a dark shape obscured my vision. I quickly tried to roll to my right, but Sylens blocked my path, kneeling down and pinning me in place. His hand quickly grabbed the collar of my shirt and lifted my torso from the floor so that my face was only inches from his.  


“I truly did expect much more from you, Elisabet.”  


“Never meet your heroes.”  


A smirk twisted his lips, once again, as I sensed the subtle motion of him lifting me higher in anticipation of driving me back down against the floor, most likely, however his motion was interrupted as an impact from behind caused his grip to falter and he let out a cry of pain. I quickly raised my hands, slamming them into his shoulders and forcing myself out of his grasp as he was thrown backward and almost entirely off of me.  


As soon as my back hit the ground, I scrambled to get a hold with my hands and feet and propel myself from under him. As my feet slid free, I paused, lifting my right leg and bending my knee. I carefully lined the heel of my boot up with the center of his torso and drove it forward with as much strength as I could. Sylens easily toppled backward as I heard the snap of wood as his back hit the ground.  


I scrambled to my knees, reaching for my spear behind me. Sylens was just beginning to roll onto his side, reaching over his left shoulder toward something, but it was mostly hidden from view from my position. I used my spear to help drag myself to my feet before I spun it around and stepped forward, holding the blade inches from Sylens’ face. He immediately froze, staring at the sharpened tip before slowly shifting his gaze up to me.  


“Move and I cut those cords out of your skin, myself.”  


He remained staring up at me for several moments before groaning and leaning his head forward. As he did, I noticed what he had been reaching for: the tip of an arrow sat embedded in his shoulder blade, having punched clean through his cloak and whatever armor or tunic lay beneath it.  


I quickly lifted my gaze toward the entrance to the office to find Talanah leaning against the doorframe, incredibly pale and panting, but still holding her bow.  


“Did I get him?”  


I couldn’t help myself as I let out a laugh, glancing back down at Sylens, who had also turned to look up at his attacker.  


“The… drugs… must not have… as much… effect,” he panted.  


“Guess you can’t actually think of everything,” I spat.  


A shuffling sound drew my attention back to Talanah to find her slowly making her way from the door, her steps unsteady, as if she were drunk.  


“What… what’d he do… to me?” she panted, holding her arms out to either side to help balance herself.  


“An ancient drug—” he began but I suddenly delivered a swift kick to his side, eliciting a grunt of pain from him and stopping him mid-sentence.  


“He somehow learned how to make a drug from the Old Ones,” I said. “It’s used to render someone unconscious… or can be, at least. Evidently, you metabolize it much faster than he expected, though.”  


“Oh… is that all?”  


I watched her carefully to see if she laughed or smiled, but her lips were drawn in a thin line as she finally came to a stop beside the desk, taking a careful seat on the edge.  


“You… owe me… a lot…” she panted, pointing a shaky finger at me.  


I returned her look with a tight-lipped one of my own, nodding curtly.  


“Let’s get out of here first.”  


“Please…”  


I turned back to Sylens on the ground to find him watching our conversation with an expression somewhere between annoyance and disinterest.  


“Leading even more hapless souls into possible death for you, I see.”  


“You shut up, right now.”  


I brought the tip of my spear incredibly close to his face, once again, before slowly sliding it down toward his throat.  


“I haven’t decided what I want to do with you, yet.”  


“You are not a killer, Elisabet.”  


My eyebrows raised slightly as I shifted the spear in my hands.  


“Oh?”  


“You may have been directly or indirectly linked to the deaths of thousands… but none were by your own hand.”  


I chewed the inside of my cheek for a few moments before nodding slowly.  


“That may be true,” I began, “but you know what they say about the past.”  


Sylens looked to me expectantly as I glared down at him.  


“If you don’t learn from your mistakes, you’ll be doomed to repeat it.”  


His eyes widened as I suddenly pressed the blade of my spear more forcefully to his throat. The only sounds in the entire room seemed to be his rapid breathing through his nose and my heart pounding in my ears as my gaze travelled between his eyes and the blade that pressed against his skin. For a moment, I could feel my hands pressing it lower, feeling it rest against his windpipe before dragging it toward me in a single, swift motion… but it never came.  


Instead, I suddenly lifted it free, leaving Sylens wide-eyed and frozen in place. I continued to stare down at him in contemplation as he swallowed nervously and cleared his throat.  


“I—”  


Before he could get more than the single syllable out, however, I suddenly stepped forward and drove my foot into his side. He grunted and curled inward, slightly, before I placed the same foot underneath him and lifted with all of my strength, throwing him onto his side with a cry of surprise. Before he could attempt to roll over, once again, or get to his feet, I suddenly stepped to the side, placing one foot on the back of his knee and pinning his legs in place.  


The spear spun deftly in my hands before I suddenly swung it down in an arcing motion. The blade slammed into the back of Sylen’s boots, exactly over where his ankles would be, and without hesitation I pulled it across them. The spear easily cut through the worn leather of his clothing and the bloodcurdling scream of pain from him immediately told me it had cut through much more. A pool of dark liquid quickly began to form under his feet as I stepped away from him, flicking the rivulets of blood on the spear’s blade away before holding it loosely at my side.  


“You can try to walk, but with cut tendons, it will be incredibly painful,” I growled. “You probably won’t die from it, just yet, though.”  


I began to replace the spear in its holsters behind me as I glanced toward Talanah to see her looking to me with an expression somewhere between confusion and disbelief.  


“The Kestrels will be here soon, I think,” I continued, still meeting her gaze, even as my words were directed toward Sylens. “They will likely show less mercy, or preference for the grandiose, as Helis did.”  


Talanah finally seemed to get what was happening as I turned back to Sylens on the floor beside us.  


“I’m sure your reunion with the Shadow Carja will be nothing short of heartwarming.”  


With that, I stepped around him and moved toward the desk. As I approached, I noticed Talanah flinch slightly and I came to an abrupt stop. She stared up at me for a few moments in silence before swallowing thickly.  


“You… you’re really going to… leave him like that?”  


My jaw clenched as I glanced down at the nearly whimpering Sylens on the floor.  


“He drugged me, like he did you, once and tried to use me to access this facility… as well as intentionally put me in situations where I could have easily died.”  


I finally turned back to Talanah to find her still not entirely convinced, it seemed.  


“He also dug up HADES, formed the Shadow Carja to do its bidding, and only changed his feelings when it tried to kill him.”  


Talanah’s eyes widened slightly as she suddenly looked back down at the curled figure on the floor.  


“H-he… he started them?”  


“Gave them purpose, at least,” I spat, “and a god around which to rally.”  


Her jaw clenched tightly before she finally looked back up at me.  


“If what you say is true—”  


“It is.”  


“If what you say is true,” she repeated, more insistently, finally pushing herself to her feet with a groan, “then let the Sun judge him.”  


Her stance seemed steadier than before as she lifted her chin slightly, her eyes hard as she stared back at me.  


“Or rather, the lack of it.”  


We held still for several moments before I finally nodded and she mirrored it.  


“Let’s get what we came for and get out of here.”


	6. Exfil

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Monday y'all.
> 
> We did it. We reached the end of "The Zero Dawn Part." Huzzah.
> 
> I think it's about time we met some more returning characters, don't you?
> 
> Anyway, I know what part you're all waiting for; I read every comment and try to respond, as well, so hey, feel free to do that if you want to ask a question or throw out an idea about what you think is coming up/going on and hey, you never know, I may like it enough to add it in ;) All I will say is: it's coming. Don't worry.
> 
> Anyway, pt. 2: on with the show.

I grabbed one of the burlap bags from the desk beside Talanah and glanced over at the drives.  


“Guess we’re using these, after all.”  


“Oh yeah, I didn’t find anything out there, anyway.”  


I gave her a look and the corners of her lips began to pull up ever so slightly.  


“We can make do.”  


She reached for the other bag as I crouched down beside the desk, grabbing the small storage drive that Sylens had dropped earlier. I turned it over in my hands a few times, examining the scuff marks on one corner where it had landed, before glancing over at him beside me. His jaw was tightly clenched, and I could see the sweat gleaming on his skin beneath the synthetic lighting.  


“Impact resistant,” I said, holding the drive up so he could see it. “It would have been very dumb to trust something valuable to something fragile.”  


With a short laugh, I rose to a standing position, scanning over the drive until I located which function it belonged to. Evidently he had grabbed one of the DEMETER drives. I slipped the drive into the bag in my hand before moving over beside Talanah, where she had already loaded as many drives as she could into her bag. For them to actually fit on my belt, each of the bags had to be relatively small, so once mine was filled, there were still around four or five left on the desk.  


“So close…” Talanah sighed.  


“Yeah, like I said…”  


“I know,” she cut in, glancing over at me, “can’t think of everything.”  


I stared back at her for several long moments before she laughed softly, shaking her head.  


“You got anywhere else you can shove one of these things?”  


My eyebrows lifted as her face contorted into a full-on smirk.  


“You going to suggest one?”  


“Not quite yet,” she shrugged. “If it makes harder for you to walk then I don’t think that’s helpful.”  


I shoved her shoulder playfully, but she ended up staggering to the side still, and I winced.  


“Sorry…”  


“Oh calm down,” she shot back, waving dismissively. “I’m feeling much better already.”  


After several moments of debating if the bags we brought could actually fit one or two more each, we settled on splitting up the remaining drives and slipping them into the bottom of our quivers, beneath the tips of our arrows.  


“You said they could take impacts, right?”  


“To some extent, but let’s hope they don’t set off a tearblast arrow or anything.”  


She glanced down at her quiver for a moment or two before looking back up at me.  


“Now I’m not worried at all…”  


I simply rolled my eyes as she smirked.  


“Anything else in here you came looking for?”  


I slowly turned about the space, taking in the room that felt both incredibly familiar and yet so—alien—at the same time. A strange twinge of something almost like sadness shot through my chest before I took a deep breath in through my nose, turning back to Talanah.  


“No, I think that’s everything.”  


She nodded and gestured to the door where we had entered.  


“Shall we? You did say the Kestrels are likely coming.”  


“I doubt they would just send a search party down here, not see them for an hour or two, and then just go ‘oh well.’”  


Talanah’s lips pulled into a thin line as she nodded.  


“Yeah… probably not.”  


With that, I began to lead the way toward the door when a shuffling and groaning from the floor brought my attention back to Sylens. He had pulled himself into something like a sitting position, but I noted how his torso swayed slightly as he tried to remain still. I paused for a moment before changing course and stalking over to him. At the sound of my approaching footsteps, he turned his head slightly, but not fully toward me.  


“So… you will not kill by your own hand, still,” he panted.  


I stepped around him before coming to a stop just out of arm’s reach.  


“Like you said: it’s not in my nature.”  


He let out a low bout of laughter, shaking his head.  


“I underestimated you,” he finally said. “You have more in common with the savage girl than I thought.”  


“Funny how that works,” I said, crouching down before him and staring into his dark eyes, the heat in my face rising once again, “being that I am her. Like you said, Elisabet Sobeck died. Whatever you think is still going on between me and her—you’re wrong.”  


I rose to a standing position as I went to move past Sylens, but stopped just beside him, once again.  


“It’s so much different than you could possible imagine.”  


With that, I suddenly reached down and swiped the Focus from beside his ear, prompting him to spin around and lunge toward me, but I easily hopped out of the way, coming to a stop a foot or two beyond his outstretched hands.  


“You… you… vile…!”  


“I’ve been called a lot of things,” I shrugged, turning his Focus over in my fingers before glancing back over at him. “Nothing you say will be any different.”  


Sylens’ chest heaved as he stared at me with an expression of burning hatred that I wasn’t sure was even possible for a human being, until now.  


“Goodbye, Sylens.”  


With that, I turned on my heel and marched toward the door, where Talanah was waiting, an expression somewhere between curiosity and amusement on her face. As I approached, I noticed my cloak that Sylens had torn from over my head during our scuffle and swiped it off the floor, shaking it out slightly as I closed the last few feet to my waiting companion.  


“Here,” I said, holding the Focus out toward her.  


Her eyebrows raised as she stared down at it, her gaze travelling back up to my face while she still hadn’t made any move to take it.  


“Still want one?”  


She swallowed before nodding. I lifted the device toward her, once again, gesturing for her to take it, and she slowly took it from my waiting fingers. She lifted it toward her ear before hesitating at the last second. With a nod of encouragement from me, she let it fall into place, the light on the outside of it instantly springing to life. Talanah jumped slightly as the interface came to life around her, turning her head to look between the various things that must have appeared, before focusing her gaze on me, once again.  


“He had one of these, too?”  


“That’s how he communicated with me without ever actually having to be near me,” I explained.  


“So… you can talk with these?”  


I nodded.  


“Here, one sec…”  


I activated my Focus and it immediately locked onto Talanah’s, scanning its signal and opening a new box before me.  


“Focus device registered to user Michael Sikorski.”  


I smirked slightly, quickly tapping on the “options” button in the box. Within a matter of moments, I had set up a communication channel between our Focuses, finishing by hitting the “test call” option. Talanah jumped in surprise as the Focus inevitably told her that she was now on a call with someone else.  


“Can you hear me?” I asked.  


She looked even more surprised as she raised one hand to her ear before nodding.  


“Through this thing, too,” she said, and I could hear her voice through my Focus, as well.  


“Good, that means it’s working,” I nodded, closing the interface and the call. “Now we can communicate within a certain distance.”  


“How far?” she asked, mimicking my motions and tapping the side of the Focus.  


“With no actual network in the area, probably a few hundred yards,” I said. “Not incredibly far, but useful in certain situations.”  


Just then, a low booming sound rang through the facility and we both jumped in surprise, whirling around for any sign of its source. No immediate cause became apparent, but as I happened to glance through the window in the former office to the main floor of the Zero Dawn facility, I saw several streams of light shining in from the ceiling, where there hadn’t been any before. A moment later, small, dark ropes fell from the streams.  


“We’re out of time.”  


I turned back to Talanah to see her looking past me, most likely at the same scene.  


“Time to make our exit.”  


She nodded, turning back to me.  


“Lead the way.”  


With that, we made our way back through the laboratory and into the partially collapsed hallway outside. I glanced both ways up and down the hallway before turning to the right.  


“This way.”  


As we took the first few steps, the world flickered, yet again, but I determinately pressed onward, taking care to note where I remembered the collapsed portions to be and skirting to the opposite side of the hallway. When I squeezed past the first part of the collapsed ceiling, I suddenly found myself standing in a well-lit, perfectly maintained version of the facility. I spared a glance back to find that I could still see the collapsed portion and the darkness of the hallway behind, but the figure squeezing through the gap behind me most definitely belonged to the ancient, pristine version of the world.  


Margo finally stepped out of the gap, letting out a heavy sigh.  


“I sure hope you know the back way out to the surface.”  


“Should be this way.”  


She just nodded and I quickly turned away, taking a deep breath in through my nose before pressing forward. Now was not the time to get lost in the differences, the hallucinations, memories, whatever they were. As I continued onward, however, I found myself following a familiar route, but I decided to press forward. After we climbed over a pile of crates and boxes that blocked the intersection of one hallway, I glanced to the right and came to a short stop. Another figure stood outside the third door on the left. She raised her hand toward the lock, twisting it and waiting for a moment before stepping forward and seemingly through the door.  


There was only one problem: it was a woman with short, red hair.  


My heart was pounding in my ears as I stalked quickly toward the same door, coming to a short stop before it. The blue lock was the same as all the others, but I still hesitated before trying it. When I did, the door hesitated for a moment, but slowly slid open with short, jerking motions. Finally, once it had cleared enough for me to pass, I stepped into the room.  


Immediately, I was confronted with the image of someone’s personal quarters, the blanket and sheets of the narrow cot thrown about and messy as if its occupant had just woken up and stepped out of the room minutes ago. A single crate of clothing sat against the wall across from the foot of the bed, many articles from it seemingly strewn about the floor and the small desk beside it.  


What drew my attention most of all, however, was the figure sitting on the end of the bed, her head in her hands. As I stared down at her, my heart rate accelerating second by second, she slowly lifted her head. I physically staggered back a step or two when I finally saw her face. Her eyes were glassy, her irises faint and unfocused, while her skin was incredibly pale, made even more apparent in comparison to the fiery red of her hair. Her cheeks were sunken and shallow, while the skin under her eyes showed incredibly dark circles, the dark purple almost black.  


Something touched my left shoulder and I jumped, whirling around toward it only to find Talanah standing in the doorway.  


“This doesn’t look like a way out,” she said quietly but firmly.  


I glanced back at the room to now find it in ruins, like the rest of the facility. The sheets and mattress on the bed long since rotted away, leaving just the metal frame. The metal crate with the clothing was no longer on the floor, but then again it shouldn’t have been. It was at GAIA Prime.  


With a deep sigh, I turned back to Talanah.  


“No, it’s not.”  


Her lips pulled into a thin line as she stepped back into the hallway, allowing me to exit the cramped personal quarters. Once outside, I glanced both ways up and down the hallway, again.  


“Do you actually know the way from here?”  


“Yes,” I said quickly, turning toward her, my jaw clenching.  


She gave me a doubtful look and I sighed, hanging my head.  


“When we aren’t in an ancient facility deep underground with Kestrels bearing down on us, I’ll tell you more about… this place, and… me.”  


An unreadable expression passed through her eyes and she nodded resolutely.  


“You most definitely are.”  


With that, I glanced over my shoulder and gestured farther down the hallway in that direction.  


“This way.”  


“You’re sure?”  


“Yes.”  


She scanned my face for several moments before nodding.  


“It’s not the way we came, at least.”  


I swallowed nervously before turning to keep heading down the hallway. After only a few feet, I realized that Talanah was walking directly beside me, rather than following behind. I glanced over at her and she gave me a smirk in return.  


“Figured maybe I can keep us on track, if need be, too.”  


I gave a small laugh in return, but it felt incredibly forced, so I quickly turned back to the hallway just as we reached another intersection. The current hallway didn’t continue onward from here, but both sides to our right and left were incredibly dark, preventing us from truly being able to see where we were going.  


“So… these are those directions you mentioned?”  


I glanced over at Talanah to see her staring up at the wall before us and I followed her gaze to find two lines of text, each with an arrow pointing in one direction or the other. Somehow I had missed that when we had approached.  


“Yeah,” I nodded, studying the two options.  


“It looks… so similar to our writing,” she said softly, “but just… slightly different.”  


“This is probably where our writing came from,” I said.  


Talanah continued to stare at it for several long moments before shaking her head, letting out a shaky laugh.  


“This… this is all so much.”  


I watched her carefully for a moments longer before she turned to look over at me.  


“How soon can we get that APOLLO thing working?”  


I raised my eyebrows slightly at her and she just grinned.  


“I already told you: you can’t show me this much and not expect me to want to know more.”  


“I know but—”  


“I'm not like the Nora.”  


I paused for a moment as her eyes widened slightly.  


“I’m sorry, I didn’t—”  


“No, it’s—it’s okay,” I said quickly. “I understand and… well, I agree.”  


She bit her lower lip for a moment or two before nodding.  


“Besides, I’m not really like other Nora, am I?”  


She shook her head, laughing softly.  


“No… no you are not.”  


With that, I studied the directions on the wall again before gesturing to my left.  


“This way, it seems.”  


We both looked down the near-pitch black hallway for several moments before Talanah pat me on the shoulder.  


“You first, girl.”  


I gave her an admonishing look and she simply smirked. With a sigh, I quickly opened my Focus, activating Low Light mode before stepping forward into the darkness. The Focus clearly outlined where the walls and any debris were, but it still was difficult to make out any actual details of what I was seeing.  


I suppose not bumping into things or falling through holes in the floor was good enough, for now.  


Finally, we seemed to reach a turn in the hallway, and as we rounded it, a source of light appeared up ahead. I continued on toward it, but as we drew within the last few yards, the world flickered and flashed until I was suddenly staring at closed doors with fully functioning lights overhead. I stopped just before them, scanning the words printed above the doorway.  


“Emergency Exit.”  


I forcefully blinked several times, but the world didn’t return to its ruined state, so I let out a heavy sigh and turned around. My throat tightened up as I found Samina standing behind me, her appearance more disheveled than I was used to, her signature headscarf nearly coming undone and half off her head. I noted what looked like several tears and burns in her clothing, in general, and the hair on the back of my neck began to stand up.  


This… this didn’t feel familiar at all.  


Finally, she turned back to me and I noted the large cut across her right cheek, a trail of half-dried blood running from it to her jaw.  


“Are there rebreathers at the top?” she asked.  


“I… I don’t know,” I replied. “I hope so.”  


A loud rumbling from farther down the hallway prompted both of us to look toward it, but everything was as still as ever.  


“We don’t have long,” she said quietly. “I guess we just have to hope for the best.”  


With a sigh, she turned back toward me.  


“Dammit, we were so close!”  


“C-close?”  


“To finishing everything, but now… somehow the fucking signal…”  


I wanted so badly to ask her what she was talking about, but something in the back of my mind kept telling me to doubt it all. None of it was real. It couldn’t be. We had succeeded.  


This… this was a lie.  


“Here, you go first and check, I’ll watch your back,” I said, gesturing to the doors.  


Samina gave me a look for a moment before nodding and stepping around me, quickly scanning her palm on the reader beside the doors. They slid open a moment later with a soft hiss, revealing the base of a narrow, tubular shaft with ladder rungs fixed into the cement surface directly ahead.  


“Here goes nothing,” she sighed, taking hold of the first rungs before glancing back at me. “See you at the top?”  


The same rumbling sounded from behind me and I glanced back, once again. The sound was even louder than before. I could also hear the sound of screeching metal and a heavy clunking that almost sounded like footsteps.  


“Elisabet?”  


I spun around to Samina, my lips pulled into a thin line as I nodded curtly.  


“Yeah, right behind you.”  


She stared at me for a few moments longer with a look of concern before taking a deep breath and turning back to ascend the ladder. As soon as she stared, the sound of the heavy footsteps and the rumbling grew much louder and I turned to look back at the other end of the hallway. As I did, my blood ran cold and my heart seemed to skip a beat or two. One of the Faro Scarabs appeared around the corner, somehow managing to scrape and drag itself through the narrow hallway. As soon as its red eye locked onto me, it seemed to redouble its efforts, scrambling to charge at me.  


My legs didn’t respond to my mind’s command to turn and jump on the ladder, as well, for several long moments, but by then the machine had already closed half of the distance of the hallway and was rapidly approaching. Finally, I forced myself to break out of my trance and turn back to the ladder, but the sounds of the deathbot giving chase didn’t cease, nor did the appearance of the facility change, once again.  


I quickly grabbed the first rungs of the ladder and glanced up to find the figure over me had already managed to climb a good fifteen or twenty feet toward the top. With a deep breath, I quickly began climbing after her, but after I had scaled a few rungs, something grabbed my right ankle and wrapped tightly around it. A shriek of surprise escaped me as my foot was suddenly yanked free of the ladder and in my surprise, I accidentally let go of the rung I was currently holding onto.  


I fell away from the wall, the sinking feeling of freefall appearing in my stomach for a second or two before I suddenly slammed into the ground, a jolt of pain shooting up my left leg just before I fell backwards. My back hit the cement wall behind me just before my head was knocked backward, as well, and a sharp jolt of pain shot through my skull. Bright patches of light appeared before me, much like when Sylens had hit my head into the desk earlier, but even through them I could see that the emergency exit shaft had changed slightly. The ladder rungs were suddenly covered in a layer of rust and grime, and there were no hints of bright lights spilling through the doorway behind me.  


I spared a quick glance toward my feet to find that a metal arm was not wrapped around my ankle, as I had felt a moment ago, but the pain in my left ankle and leg was quite real. A groan escaped me as I shifted my weight more to my right leg and rubbed at my left knee gingerly.  


“Are you okay?”  


I glanced up at the sound of Talanah’s voice above me to find the outline of her clinging to the ladder rungs while she stared down at me in the strange white lines of the Low Light mode. There was no way she could actually see me from as far away as she was, I figured, so I cleared my throat to try to utter some kind of response.  


“Yeah.”  


She remained still and silent for several moments afterward, seemingly not entirely convinced. My eyes scanned over the ladder rungs ahead of me to see that one just above my head level seemed to be hanging only from one side. It had most likely given out on me when I put my weight on it.  


It wasn’t a Corruptor dragging me to my death.  


Completely normal in a ruin.  


With a deep breath, I glanced back up at Talanah.  


“Ladder broke on one step,” I called up to her. “Scared me.”  


“You fell?”  


“Just a little bit. Hurts, but… I’ll live.”  


I could see her outline move and assumed she must have made some kind of comment to herself, but I couldn’t hear her from where I was.  


“You going to be able to make it up?”  


“Yeah, just… I’ll meet you at the top, all right?”  


She made a sound in the affirmative before resuming her climb. I took a deep breath, shaking my hands to either side of me before approaching the ladder, once again. The climb went a little better this time, possibly as I was no longer trying to dash up it in a mad scramble, but took my time and tested any rungs that seemed even the least bit loose.  


After several minutes of climbing, the pain in my left leg had begun to act up again and I could feel the sore, tight feeling returning to my shoulders. I took a moment to pause, wrapping one arm around the rung before me as I leaned my forehead against the one above it. After a moment or two of wishing for the aches and pains to die down, I glanced up toward the top of the shaft, once again. I could just make out the shape of Talanah against the various outlines from the Focus’s projections; she seemed to have gotten a considerable distance ahead of me during our climb.  


Deciding that I didn’t want her to get any farther ahead, I redoubled my efforts and continued up the ladder. After another minute or so, I heard some kind of scuffling echoing back down the shaft toward me and I paused for a moment to glance up. I could just make out the outline of what appeared to be Talanah’s head sticking out over the ladder above me.  


“You almost up here yet?”  


“Close, I guess,” I shot back. “Why?”  


“Because this is going to be interesting.”  


My eyebrows raised slightly, even though she couldn’t see my expression, and I continued upward. Finally, after what felt like an eternity of climbing later, I reached the top and found Talanah sitting against the wall of the cramped space at the very top. A door much like the one we had passed through to get to the ladder sat closed beside her, and I frowned slightly.  


“You try the door?”  


“There’s no circle-lock-thing, if you didn’t notice.”  


I turned back to the door to see that she was right. Evidently the actual exit had lost its power.  


Perfect.  


With a sigh, I dragged myself over the top of the ladder and onto the small landing with Talanah as she got to her feet, as well. I approached the door, feeling along the wall beside it for some kind of panel, but nothing was immediately apparent. With a growl of frustration, I stepped in front of the door, itself.  


“Guess we have to force it like the one to the office,” I said.  


“You think that’s a good idea?”  


“Why not?”  


Talanah pointed to her Focus and I looked at her curiously, but activated mine. As I did, three orange shapes immediately appeared overlaid on the wall ahead of me. My Focus scanned the first one and immediately my shoulders sagged.  


“Human identified. Possibly hostile.”  


“Kestrels,” I sighed.  


“I think we came up right behind one of their guard posts,” Talanah confirmed.  


We stood in silence for several long moments as I chewed the inside of my cheek, my hands firmly braced on my hips. The thought of climbing all the way back down the ladder was not particularly appealing just now, but if we suddenly stepped out of an ancient structure to a waiting group of Kestrels, they would certainly not just shrug it off.  


Finally, I sighed, turning back to Talanah.  


“Do you have any ideas?”  


She folded her arms over her chest, shifting her stance to one side.  


“What do you think?”  


“Blow them up?”  


She let out a snort that she quickly tried to cover up by placing her hand over her mouth. I glanced toward the images of the Kestrels outside, but none of them seemed to have reacted to any noises we had made so far.  


“Well, I mean… we made it this far with only one fight…”  


“And we are leaving…”  


We both stared at each other for a long moment or two before nodding.  


“Here goes nothing.”  


I carefully drew my spear as I saw Talanah draw her hunting knife from under her cloak. The tip of the blade fit neatly between the closed doors, and I carefully wedged it even farther into the crack until I felt that it was deep enough to successfully gain leverage. Once it was in place, I paused, glancing over at Talanah.  


“Ready?”  


She nodded and I took a deep breath before leaning my weight into the spear shaft. At first, nothing seemed to happen, but when I pushed with more force, the doors began to crack open, a thin shaft of light spilling through them from outside. As I pushed harder, a metallic groan sounded from the doors, but they finally began to open farther. Finally, with a hair-raising metallic screech, the doors opened fully, each side retracting into the walls as I staggered forward and nearly ran into Talanah.  


I quickly recovered my balance as I spun my spear around, holding it vertically so she could pass. With a smirk, she slipped by me, sliding up to the opening before glancing outside. As she did, I heard a voice respond from outside, as well.  


“What in the…?”  


Before it could utter anything else, Talanah whirled around the corner of the doorway, raising her knife overhead before throwing it expertly ahead of her. A cry of pain followed soon after by a cry of surprise filtered through the doorway before Talanah suddenly raced forward, prompting me to give chase.  


As I stepped into the burning sunlight outside, I found a small scene of chaos already unfolding before me. Talanah had charged the three Kestrels, one of which had the hilt of her knife sticking from where his neck met his shoulder. As I watched, she grabbed the hilt of the knife and ripped it loose, immediately whirling to her right and slashing its blade down and across the adjacent Kestrel’s throat. He let out a strangled sound as blood sprayed from the wound and onto the ground before him.  


Just as Talanah began to turn back to the Kestrel she had originally struck with the thrown knife, I saw the third one raising his pike to strike across his companion toward her and I charged across the short distance of open ground between him and myself. My footsteps distracted him as he glanced in my direction and immediately pulled a double take. A moment later, however, I leapt into the air, raising my spear overhead.  


I watched in slow motion as my spear arced through the air above my head until it came down in the exact same spot Talanah’s knife had struck the other Kestrel, the blade sinking into the exposed section of skin where his neck met his shoulder. The blade sunk a good inch or two into his shoulder and dragged him to his knees with the remainder of the momentum from my swing. As soon as my feet touched the ground, I pulled up on the spear, yanking it free of the Kestrel to a small spray of vermilion mist.  


His eyes widened as he stared up at me, but I barely had time to register his expression before my hands swung the spear around and rammed the tip firmly into his chest, around the armor plating. A short grunt escaped his lips before what sounded like a soft sigh as his eyes rolled back into his head and he fell backward.  


I glanced over at Talanah to find her shaking her hunting knife off to her side, a great deal of the blood on its blade flinging off with her motion.  


“Well, that was efficient,” I remarked, smirking.  


She returned mine with one of her own as she slid her hunting knife back into its sheath on her belt.  


“You know, you’d make quite the Thrush.”  


I raised my eyebrows at her.  


“A what now?”  


“It’s what we call a new member of the Hunter’s Lodge,” she said. “You start as a Thrush, move to Hawk, and eventually can maybe make it all the way up to the Sunhawk.”  


I just shook my head as I slid my spear into its holsters behind me.  


“We can talk about it more when we’re not deep in enemy territory.”  


“Right.”  


With that, I glanced around where we had exited the Zero Dawn facility to find that we were almost directly beside the broken section of the Sun Ring. Unfortunately, we were also right next to the area with even more Kestrels standing guard. As I glanced across the under repair opening, I happened to lock eyes with another one and we remained still for several long seconds before his eyes widened.  


“Hey! Intruders!”  


Talanah glanced back at the sound of shouting and swore under her breath.  


“Time to make our exit.”  


Just as the Kestrels were turning toward us, we took off running away from the cement structure. The sandy ground was not the best surface to gain traction on, but the alternative of standing our ground against every Kestrel in Sunfall made for a significant motivator to keep trying. Within moments, a chorus of barking guards and what sounded like some kind of alarms sounding echoed from behind us and I spared a quick glance over my shoulder to find rows of Kestrel archers scrambling to line up along the outer battlement of the city.  


I quickly adjusted course, turning to run toward the curved, stone ramp up to the main entrance of the city, warily eying the Kestrels who had previously been checking every new entrant but who were now pushing through them to get to us.  


“Where are you going?” Talanah shouted from just behind me.  


“Trust me!”  


She grumbled something in response, but I didn’t see her take off in a different direction out of the corner of my eye, so I assumed she was still following. I led the way past the entrance to the ramp just as the first volley of arrows slammed into the ground around us. Screams erupted from the crowd gathered on the ramp and at the edge of the tent city just outside the main entrance. I didn’t feel an arrowhead slam into my back, nor did I hear a cry of pain from Talanah, so I assumed that their aim had not been as good as they had hoped.  


Within moments, we had charged past the ramp and into the rows of tents, themselves. I followed a winding path through the temporary structures that had since become much less so, until I suddenly came to a skidding halt. Two Kestrels stood at the end of the row ahead of us, their pikes raised in our direction.  


“Hold it right there!”  


I cursed under my breath, spinning to head the other direction, but I ran into an unsuspecting Talanah and we both fell to the ground. I quickly tried to disentangle myself from her and get to my feet, but just as I got to my knees, I found Kestrels had circled behind us, also raising their weapons toward us.  


“It’s that Nora girl!”  


“No, she had red hair, that’s not her.”  


“No, she’s not dressed like a Nora,” one of them said, gesturing with his pike to me. “I was there when we dragged her up to the cage. She’s got a disguise on.”  


“Clever bastard…” I muttered under my breath.  


“So we kill her on sight, right?”  


“Right.”  


Well that wasn’t good.  


The Kestrels began to draw in closer, gripping their weapons tightly.  


“Careful, she’s tricky, and she’s got a friend.”  


I glanced over at Talanah quickly to find her jaw set firmly as she stared at the Kestrels behind me. We were quickly running out of ways to escape. I could see the tops of the Kestrels’ ornate headdresses drawing closer over the tops of the tents nearby and felt my jaw clenching tightly, my hand slowly reaching behind me toward my weapons.  


Just then, the sound of something mechanical clicking into place sounded form ahead of me and one of the Kestrels glanced to his left.  


“What—?”  


Before he could get more than a single word out, a burst of small projectiles slammed into him, knocking him clean off his feet and into his companion. The two of them fell to the ground before another blast landed firmly in their faces and they both fell much more still. A gurgled cry came from behind me and I spun around to find one of the Kestrels now sporting a dark red line across his throat. Just as his companion glanced toward him, a hand holding a knife appeared around his shoulder and quickly gave him one of his own. The two Kestrels slumped to the ground, revealing their attacker as she spun the small blade in her hands, a devilish smirk set in her features.  


“Forgive me, ladies. I’m sure you ‘had it,’ but I just couldn’t resist.”  


I stared back at Vanasha for a moment or two longer before I shook my head, laughing. The mechanical sound from before the other two Kestrels had been blown away came from the same direction and I glanced over to find another familiar figure, her usual Oseram leather apron covered by a cloak similar to Talanah’s and mine.  


“Plan almost went off without a hitch, eh flame-hair?”  


Petra smirked as she hefted the Rattler in her grip. Talanah glanced back at her, as well, before shaking her head and beginning to get to her feet.  


“I hate to be this kind of person,” Vanasha broke in, “but we really should be going. We have quite obviously lost the element of surprise.”  


I happened to glance past Talanah to see more Kestrels entering the same row of tents, the one at the front pointing in our direction before charging forward. Within mere moments, I had lifted my bow free, nocked an arrow, and let it fly. The tip slammed firmly into the Kestrel’s forehead and he stumbled for a step or two more before falling to the ground in a heap that tripped the next man behind him.  


“I agree,” I said quickly, glancing over at Vanasha. “You still have our rides?”  


“Do you not trust me?”  


I raised my eyebrows at her and she laughed.  


“Right this way, little huntress.”  


I glanced back to make sure Petra and Talanah were following before breaking into a run after Vanasha. We quickly wound our way out of the rows of tents before charging back out into the open ground. We were incredibly exposed against the desert sands, so I had to hope that the Kestrels continued to be as bad of shots as they had proven thus far. By the amount of shouting from behind us, though, I had to assume almost their entire military force was giving chase.  


Certainly gave a new meaning to feeling wanted.  


As we crested a sand dune ahead of us, I caught sight of a glowing blue light against the brown and tan of the scenery. The light quickly separated into four separate lights, each of them belonging to a Strider that stared up at us with seeming interest. I quickly skidded to a stop beside one of them, grabbing the wires from the back of its head and using them to haul myself onto its back. The others did so with varying degrees of finesse, but within seconds we were all on our mounts.  


I spared one last glance back toward the top of the dune to find several Kestrels just beginning to crest it, two of them raising bows toward us, although by the way I could see their arrowheads sway from this distance, it was no surprise when their arrows landed wide of all four of us. With a smirk, I dug my heels into the side of my Strider, gripping its wire reigns tightly.  


“Yah!”  


The pounding of the four Striders’ hooves across the sandy ground quickly began to grow in volume as we broke into an all-out gallop along the packed trail that led away from Sunfall and farther into the desert. We kept up our breakneck pace all the way until we started to ascend the rocky, mountainous paths that split the brown, arid desert around Sunfall from the red, slightly more vegetated desert of the northern Sundom.  


With a heavy sigh, I finally slowed my Strider to a canter, straightening my position on its back and stretching my own back against the tightness that had begun to set in during our escape. I glanced around to see the other three slowing to a similar pace around me, all of them showing various signs of relief from the change in pace and position.  


“Fire and spit, girl,” Petra called, “my bones haven’t taken this sort of beating in quite a while.”  


I caught Vanasha smirking as I rolled my eyes.  


“I don’t think I want to know the story to go with that.”  


Petra let out a hearty laugh as I glanced over at Talanah, as well.  


“You hanging in there?”  


“Me? Oh, yeah,” she said, a shiver running through her torso as the beginnings of a grin formed on her lips. “What a rush.”  


I gave her a small smile before sighing and turning forward on my Strider, once again. The group fell into a companionable silence as we followed the worn, dusty trail down from the mountainous paths to the desert below. As we reached the bottom, I glanced toward the sky to realize how low the sun was to the horizon, its light well faded form the brilliant, almost white glow of midday to the dark oranges and reds of sunset.  


“How long were we in there?” I asked, glancing over toward Vanasha.  


“A few hours, I’d say,” she shrugged. “I was beginning to wonder if you had tricked even me with your disguise and left without me noticing.”  


I let out a short laugh.  


“Slip by you? Now that’ll be the day.”  


Vanasha let out a quiet laugh that almost sounded like humming before we fell into silence, once again.  


Within an hour or so, the sun had set, and I could just barely make out the path in the light of the Strider’s glowing, blue eye. I almost suggested stopping for the night, but the soreness that reared its head in my back and shoulders immediately told me I’d rather not. Instead, I activated the Low Light mode, once again, and set the destination on my Focus’s map, leaving a small, yellow diamond hovering just above the horizon while the interface was open, the numbers under it still in the hundreds, but falling. With a sigh, I closed the interface and glanced around at the other three.  


“I’m thinking we try to make some good time for a bit, again.”  


“Aye, if it means a bed and some ale, I’ll put up with the complaining from my bones,” Petra shot back.  


“A bed does sound nice,” Vanasha chimed in.  


“I’m with Petra on this one,” Talanah added.  


I raised my eyebrows toward her, but she likely was unable to fully see me as she didn’t react.  


“Well, then follow me.”  


With that, I spurred the Strider onward, faster into the darkness of the desert. As the wind began to whip by me, tugging at my cloak and easily flowing through the Carja silk of my clothing beneath it, I found myself closing my eyes for a brief moment, reveling in the warm air that felt both comforting and somehow cooling, at the same time.  


I could almost ride for hours if it felt like this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Squad goals.
> 
> See y'all next week.


	7. A Good Night's Rest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Monday everybody.
> 
> So now that we've had chase scenes and near-death experiences, it's time for a bit of rest.
> 
> But not too much, you know.
> 
> We've still got some big conversations that need to happen.
> 
> Come along.

A chorus of gasps, murmurs, and more outright comments greeted our arrival as I brought my Strider to a stop. I let out a heavy sigh of my own before turning and sliding off its back, groaning at the stiffness and soreness that had set into every part of my body, it seemed. While I waited for the other three to dismount, as well, I happened to catch a few of the phrases that seemed to run through the crowd of merchants and commoners who stood about the makeshift camp around us.  


“Savior…”  


“Survivor…”  


“Slew the Buried Shadow…”  


Word was already getting out of hand, it seemed.  


I grimaced slightly as I glanced back to find the other three women stepping away from the Striders and toward me.  


“Guess we’ll have to get by your adoring fans, first,” Vanasha remarked, smirking.  


I sighed, rubbing my eyes tiredly.  


“Don’t have to tell me about it…”  


Vanasha laughed softly but placed a hand on my shoulder and gently urged me onward toward the waiting line of armed guards. Each of them straightened up as we approached, banging the butt of their pikes on the ground.  


“Ma’ams,” one of them began, “welcome back.”  


“I take it all has been quiet while we were gone?” Vanasha asked.  


“Aye. Reconstruction continues, but no attacks from Eclipse or Corrupted machines.”  


“Well, let’s hope it stays that way. Does Avad know we’ve arrived?”  


“Sentry spotted you approaching several minutes ago and relayed to the palace.”  


“So yes.”  


“Yes, ma’am.”  


“Well, then it would be rude to keep him waiting much longer.”  


I frowned slightly at the thought of having to have a lengthy conversation with the Sun King when all I wanted to do was collapse onto a bed and fall asleep, but Vanasha didn’t seem to give me a choice as she led me onward, once again, glancing back toward Talanah, as well.  


“I’m sure he will want to speak with the both of you.”  


“Will he now?”  


“I mean, I want to hear, so by extension, the Sun King does, too.”  


I could almost feel Talanah’s eye roll from behind me, but I couldn’t seem to even spare the energy to glance back at her. By the time we were halfway across the bridge to the city, my footsteps had become even more plodding than they had been initially, and I could already feel how heavy my arms and legs felt with each motion. I shook my head, rubbing at my eyes more forcefully, but it did little to help.  


As we finally reached the end of the bridge and stepped into the stone streets of Meridian, Vanasha suddenly slipped in front of me, bringing me to a stop.  


“Aloy, are you okay?”  


I looked up at her, my brow furrowed in confusion.  


“Yeah, why?”  


“You’re practically asleep where you stand.”  


“I mean… tired…” I mumbled, shrugging as I cast my eyes downward, the world blurring for a moment before I blinked it away.  


Silence followed for several moments before Vanasha pat me on the shoulder.  


“We will speak with Avad in the morning,” she said. “You need rest.”  


I mumbled something in response, but it was quickly enveloped by a yawn.  


“Do you know the way to your accommodations?”  


“Maybe?”  


“I do.”  


I glanced to my side to find Talanah standing beside me, her hands braced on her hips.  


“Care to make sure she makes it home, then?”  


“Sure thing.”  


Vanasha nodded before turning back to me.  


“Sleep well, little huntress. I’ll see you in the morning.”  


I nodded, trying to hold back another yawn unsuccessfully as the other woman smirked and began to turn away. As soon as she had taken a few steps, a heavy hand fell on my right shoulder and I jumped in surprise, glancing over as my heart hammered in my ears. Petra grinned at my reaction, but didn’t take her hand away.  


“I don’t think I’ve seen you crash this hard before,” she remarked.  


“I’ve had a long day.”  


She let out a hearty laugh before clapping me on the shoulder, once again.  


“I wasn’t kidding when I said I could use some ale and a bed, though,” she continued, “so I’ll bid you two goodnight for now. Stop by tomorrow, if you can. I want to hear some stories, too.”  


I offered her a tired smile and a nod before she turned her gaze to Talanah.  


“Make sure she doesn’t wander off the mesa, yeah?”  


Talanah made a snorting sound beside me and I rolled my eyes.  


“I’m not—” I yawned deeply, once again, “—helpless.”  


“Not usually, but right now you look like a good breeze would knock you off your feet.”  


“Well, you all keep telling me to go to bed, but we’re still standing here,” I shot back, grinning.  


“Go, then, girl! I’d better see you tomorrow, little spark, and you, too, Talanah.”  


I nodded, waving goodnight as Petra headed down the street straight ahead, passing under several walkways and disappearing into the crowds of people that still wandered the streets, even in the middle of the night. A gentle tug came at my left arm and I glanced over to find Talanah nodding down the street to our left.  


“Come on, I’ll lead the way.”  


“Thanks…”  


True to her word, Talanah kept by my side, taking my elbow to guide me around obstacles, and occasionally preventing me from walking into something, like a merchant’s cart or a Carja guard. Finally, after what felt like an eternity of winding through the city streets, Talanah turned me down a short alleyway that led to a set of rather ornate, wooden doors. I immediately recognized the design of Olin’s former apartment entrance and noted that both of doors had been fully reattached.  


Only took, what, three months?  


Guess no one was really using it until a month ago, though.  


We came to a stop in front of the wooden entrance and I sighed, patting about my person until I located the small pouch attached to the back of my belt. I pulled it free and opened the top, turning it upside down to dump the key into my palm. Before I could even attempt to unlock the door, myself, Talanah had taken the small, brass key and did it herself. With a grunt of exertion, she pushed the left door open and led me through it into the dark apartment beyond.  


I blinked several times against the near total darkness as Talanah released my arm and disappeared farther into the room. Only a few moments later, however, I heard a bang and a muttered curse from my right and I glanced toward it to find nothing but the darkness, still, although a soft clicking sound was now emanating from the same place as the curse a moment ago. Finally, I saw several small sparks flash against the white stone of the wall before a larger flame flickered to life, growing larger until the small lamp provided just enough light to actually look around the space.  


Talanah was just rising from beside it, placing the small piece of flint on the cabinet beside the lamp before turning back to me, as well.  


“Welcome back,” she said, smirking.  


I glanced around the room, noting that nothing seemed immediately out of place, but then again, I didn’t have a lot of my own possessions stored in Meridian. Didn’t have a lot of possessions, in general.  


“You need anything from down here?”  


I shook my head and Talanah then gestured to the stairs beside her.  


“Come on, I’ll help you up them.”  


I rolled my eyes, but had to quickly stifle a yawn immediately after.  


“I’m not—”  


“Helpless, I know, I know.”  


With a sigh, she moved over to me, anyway, taking my right arm and leading me toward the stairs. Ascending them only made me realize how tired and sore I truly was, as each step brought new aches and pains in my legs and back, and the energy required to lift each leg seemed monumental. Finally, we reached the top and I squinted into the darkness of the bedroom.  


The bed was large enough that I knew if I simply walked toward the center of the room, I would eventually hit it, but the light from the lamp downstairs did little to help actually see anything on the second floor.  


“One second,” Talanah muttered, releasing my arm before moving to our left.  


Ignoring her command, I plodded forward, holding one hand out tentatively before me until I suddenly felt something soft underneath it and I came to a stop. I carefully ran my hand over the surface a few times before I was able to convince myself it was, indeed, the blanket on the bed and I let out a heavy sigh, allowing myself to fall forward onto it. The mattress and frame creaked and groaned at my sudden impact, but nothing seemed to break.  


I buried my face in the soft fabric of the blanket for several moments before turning my head toward where I knew Talanah had gone moments ago.  


“You know, I almost thought you were faking.”  


I lifted my head slightly just as Talanah lit another lamp on a small table across from the foot of the bed, finally bringing at least some amount of light to the room.  


“Faking?”  


“How tired you were,” she sighed, turning back to me and approaching the foot of the bed. “It would be a clever way to not have to deal with the Sun King right now.”  


“I mean… I’m not complaining, but…” I yawned deeply, “I don’t think I’m faking…”  


Talanah sighed, shaking her head.  


“Well, if I can trust you’re not going to accidentally hurt yourself somehow while falling asleep, I’ll leave you to it.”  


“I solemnly swear…”  


She gave me an odd look before laughing softly and shaking her head.  


“I’ll leave the bag with the drives up here with you.”  


“Soun’s good…”  


“Goodnight, Aloy.”  


I muttered a sound that could have been a bid goodnight, as well, but even I wasn’t particularly sure. The sound of Talanah’s footsteps heading toward the stairs followed shortly afterward, however, and I tracked her descent in my head. Finally, I heard the front door of the apartment close with a heavy thud and I sighed, letting my eyes slide fully closed for a moment, only to open them to a completely different sight.  


It had to be a dream, though.  


It was the same one as so many other times over the past two months.  


The perspective seemed different, though.  


This time I stood looking at a young Nora huntress lit on one side by a brilliant blue light, and on the other by a menacing red light. She was staring, entranced, at something to my right, her eyes reflected the starry pattern of what would normally have been the sky, as well as the towering, red Spire and the monolithic blue image of a woman a thousand years out of time.  


“Why did you stop it?”  


I sighed, rubbing my eyes tiredly.  


“You know why.”  


“It’s a killswitch. That’s why we took it.”  


“Right. We can’t kill it.”  


The huntress turned to face me, her eyes still somewhat glassy as her gaze met mine.  


“Why can’t we?”  


“Because we need it.”  


“We?”  


“Yes, we.”  


“Or _you_?”  


My teeth ground as I began to pace, running my hands through my hair. It was shorter than I expected—than I was used to, at least.  


“I think you’re confusing me with someone else.”  


“No, you left him for dead.”  


I came to an immediate halt, eyes widening slightly.  


That was different.  


I whirled to face the huntress to find that her eyes had sharpened, again, but something about her expression was still… off.  


“Would you have done something differently?”  


“I would have killed him.”  


The hair on the back of my neck stood up straight as I rubbed my clammy palms against the soft fabric of my pants.  


“Like—”  


“Like Olin—like Helis—yes,” she interrupted, “but they’re not the only ones.”  


A shiver wracked my body and I found myself unable to look at her anymore, instead turning my attention back to the towering Spire and blue, glowing figure beside us, but the colors felt darker, more muted. The stars that had surrounded us moments ago were gone, leaving just an inky blackness beyond the soft, blue lines of the grid that spread out beneath and around us, like some large dome.  


“You never had to do it, though.”  


“Do what?”  


“Kill.”  


I whirled to face the young huntress, my hands clenching into fists at my sides.  


“Not directly, no.”  


“But indirectly?”  


“You already know the answer to that.”  


“I want to hear you say it.”  


A growl of frustration escaped me as I threw my hands into the air.  


“Yes, indirectly,” I spat. “I enabled the idea to kill thousands and thousands of people in the name of helping myself. Is that what you want to hear?”  


“It’s not what I want to hear,” she replied, shaking her head slowly, “but what you need to hear, maybe.”  


“Oh, fuck off!”  


I spun on my heel to stalk away, but came to an abrupt halt when I found myself almost walking into the same girl, once again. Her oddly vacant expression had disappeared, though, leaving a stern glare with a clenched jaw in its place.  


“He’s going to find a way out of there, you know.”  


“Who cares?”  


“He’ll come after you.”  


I opened my mouth to utter another retort when something made me pause, my anger fading to confusion.  


“Why did you say come after _me_ … not _us_?”  


“Because when he shows up, angry and looking for blood,” she began, stepping closer to me while I instinctually began to back away, but she still seemed to gain on me, “it’s not because of me, the little Nora girl who doesn’t know any better, it’s because of the ancient woman, the ‘mother of the apocalypse,’ who doesn’t seem to know how to solve her problems herself.”  


Something in me finally snapped and I stopped retreating, instead taking a step closer to the huntress, my face stopping inches from hers.  


“What’s your point?”  


Suddenly, something gripped tightly around my neck and my eyes widened. Whatever breath was in my lungs was caught there, the crushing pressure preventing me from drawing any more, as well. The edges of my vision began to grow dark as I stared back at the hazel eyes immediately before mine. It was like staring in a mirror, except the anger in them was unlike any I had seen, myself.  


“You’re going to get yourself, and everyone else you know, killed—again.”  


I feebly clawed at the hand around my throat, but just as the darkness finally reached the center of my vision, bright light replaced it. A raspy, gasping breath wracked my chest as I felt myself physically jolting upright, my hand already placed against my throat. Warm, sweat-slicked skin lay beneath my fingertips, but as I slid my hand side to side, I realized that it was my own.  


I wasn’t choking.  


I could breathe.  


Breathe.  


I blinked forcefully several more times until my vision began to clear and I wiped at my eyes with the back of my hand, feeling the sweat threatening to roll over my brow as I did. The world around me was bright, much brighter than it had been a moment ago, but also much brighter than I remembered when I fell asleep. Confusion creased my face as I slowly scanned about the space until my mind finally registered that it was the apartment bedroom in Meridian, albeit now with the bright light of the morning sun shining in through the window on the far wall.  


I let out a heavy sigh as my hand absentmindedly rubbed against my throat once or twice more before I let it fall into my lap. As I did, I glanced down to find that at some point in the night, I had managed to remove my weapons, as well as my belt and all of my utility pouches and holders. In fact, I had apparently ditched everything except the overly-long and flowing Carja silk top I had worn from the trip to Sunfall and back… and yet, I still felt like a bucket of warm water had been dumped over my head.  


With a grimace, I crawled my way out of the bed and got to my feet with a prolonged groan, stretching my arms over my head, the stiff line across my back from the Sawtooth’s scar immediately drawing my attention. Along with it, though, the aches and pains in my left leg from the fall in the ladder exit shaft and the subsequent sprint out of Sunfall made themselves painfully apparent.  


“I feel too old, already…”  


With one more slow twist of my torso side to side, I let my arms fall by my sides and padded over to the lamp on the table across from the foot of the bed. The small flame at the top of it still burned, so I carefully blew it out. No sense in wasting the oil during the daylight.  


Just beside it, I found the burlap bag full of storage drives that Talanah had left the night before, and I carefully emptied it on the rest of the table not occupied by the lamp. Each of the black, rectangular drives showed no signs of significant damage, except maybe just a scratch or two where some had rubbed together particularly forcefully in the bag. I went to tap my Focus beside my ear, but only found my bare skin, eliciting a frown. I turned back to the bed and quickly found the mess I had made, seemingly in my sleep. My spear and bow were seemingly thrown haphazardly on the floor, while my belt and its various pouches and pockets sat on the floor by the upper right post of the bed. The pants from my outfit lay on the floor by the wall to my right, seemingly haven been thrown far aside. Out of the entire mess, however, I couldn’t easily spot the small, silver device.  


I moved alongside the bed, crouching down to examine my belt and weapons, but I couldn’t find it in any of the pouches, either, although I did find the second bag of storage drives. My frown deepened as I placed the bag on the bed and quickly moved to the pants, but found that they had nothing even close to pockets, and so I threw them back to the floor with a frustrated huff.  


“Where in the…?”  


I stopped as I turned back to the bed, something just under the front edge of one of the pillows catching my eye, only inches from the bag I had just placed on it. It was a faint, glimmering light, just barely visible, but at this angle, I could finally see it around the bunched up top of the blanket and sheets. I quickly slipped over to the bed and lifted the pillow aside. Immediately, my eyes fell on the small, triangular chunk of metal that glowed with a faint blue light on the outside and I let out a relieved sigh.  


“Don’t scare me like that,” I muttered, smirking as I grabbed the device and slipped it beside my ear.  


The interface immediately came to life around me and for a moment the scene of a young redhead beside a glowing red Spire and a blue, holographic woman flashed before my eyes, but it quickly disappeared as I blinked rapidly and shook my head. With a deep breath in through my nose, I felt the tense feeling in my chest begin to relax away and I grabbed the bag from the bed and turned my attention back to the stacks of storage drives.  


Within a minute or two, I had managed to count them all out, and found that only about four seemed to be missing. My pulse began to quicken as I realized that one of them belonged to GAIA.  


“No, no, no, no…”  


I whirled around, rubbing my temples with my fingers as I desperately tried to remember what could have happened. Suddenly, my eyes landed on my quiver beside my bed and I rushed over to it, tipping its contents out on the blanket. The seven or so arrows inside instantly spilled out, followed moments later by two, rectangular black drives. I scanned each with my Focus, but found that one belonged to ARTEMIS and the other MINERVA.  


“Good, but…”  


I threw my quiver back down on the bed and swore, rubbing my eyes tiredly.  


“Guess I better pay Talanah a visit.”  


As I ran my hand back over my hair, however, the disgusting, greasy feeling beneath my fingers sent a shiver down my spine.  


“After a quick wash, I think.”  


I wiped my hand absentmindedly on my top before moving over to the bureau across the room. There weren’t a huge variety of choices, but I eventually settled on another set of Carja silks, although these ones were primarily colored in red with white along the outer portions of the legs and bright, sky blue accents across the torso. I folded them over my arm before turning to head toward the stairs.  


When I reached the bottom, I turned on my heel and stepped into the wash room just to the right of the stairs. As soon as I had closed the door, I let out a heavy sigh, tossing the clothes over my arm onto the floor by the wall to my right. I tapped my Focus to provide some way of finding my way around the dark room until I was able to light the small candle next to the smaller wash basin on the wooden fixture beneath the mirror.  


Once I could actually see what I was doing, I filled the bath from the wall spigot, testing the water temperature with my hand before shrugging at the cool temperature. It would offset the sweat bath I had woken up to earlier. Despite the warning, I still drew a sharp breath once I had stripped and stepped into the water. After a few seconds, I had grown used to the temperature and settled into the water until I was submerged up to my neck. With a heavy sigh, I undid the single braid in my hair, tossing the tie I had used to hold the tip in place on top of my discarded top before taking a deep breath and dipping my head below the water.  


The cool temperature felt amazing against my face and through my hair, although the greasy, disgusting feeling stubbornly remained even after a few seconds of aggressive scrubbing with my fingers. Finally, I resurfaced and glanced over the side of the basin. With the help of the formula from one of the two small, glass bottles on the floor, I finally managed to get my hair to a state where it didn’t immediately feel greasy and disgusting to the touch.  


Satisfied, I quickly finished the rest of my bath before letting out a heavy sigh and rising to a standing position in the basin. I grabbed a soft towel from the small rack set into the wall to my right and began to dry myself from the head down until I was able to step out of the basin and only spill a minimal amount of water. As I moved to grab the silk clothing from the floor where I had dropped it earlier, I caught my reflection out of the corner of my eye and paused. I twisted my shoulder slightly and could just make out one side of the scar across my back, frowning at the dark, red line that cut from my left shoulder to my right side.  


It was a reminder to not get myself in over my head.  


To not let a lapse in judgement get the best of me.  


With a sigh, I moved my eyes up from the scar to my hair, running my fingers through it, once again, as I noted how it was finally back to its normal red color, once again.  


“Black works for Talanah, but not me,” I muttered, grinning before finally grabbing the clothing and pulling it on.  


As with most Carja-designed clothing, it allowed the maximum airflow against the skin while still proving rather opaque, thankfully. Once I had finished tying everything as Talanah and the healer, Janna, had taught me during my stay in the infirmary, I ran my hands over the clothing before turning back to the mirror. My hair was still damp, but it was already showing signs of the untamed, wild, frizzy mess that it could become if not restrained properly.  


That was something I could worry about later, though.  


With a deep breath and one last pat down of my clothing to make sure it was all tied in place, I drained the tub and grabbed my sweat-soaked top and the tie from my hair before stepping back into the main room of the apartment. Almost immediately, a growling from my stomach prompted me to stop and turn toward the kitchen on the far end of the room. A quick search of the counters and storage cabinets, however, revealed little results. I eventually settled on an apple that didn’t have quite as many brown spots as the others, and carefully bit into a section away from those that did exist. Almost immediately, I spit out the pieces in my mouth into my palm before glancing around for somewhere else to dispose of them. Finding nothing, I simply placed the putrid fruit on the nearest counter and wiped my hand on my top, once again.  


“I could have told you that.”  


The sound of another voice caused me to jump nearly a foot in the air, my arms flailing slightly and nearly sending my dirty clothing flying. I managed to regain control of my body a moment later as I scanned the main room of the apartment in a panic, my knees braced and ready for some kind of confrontation, if needed.  


At first, everything seemed to be as still and empty as I expected, but motion from the lefthand side of the room drew my gaze. A familiar head of jet black hair rose from the couch, a hand reaching up to run through it lazily. After a few more moments, I let out a heavy sigh, shaking my head before looking back up at Talanah, who was now pulling herself into a full sitting position with a smirk.  


“You scared the shit out of me,” I said.  


She raised one eyebrow as she stretched her arms over her head.  


“I thought you’d be more observant.”  


“I thought you’d left.”  


“I thought you’d wear bottoms to bed.”  


My face began to burn as I could only imagine the deep shade of scarlet it must have turned, which only prompted Talanah to howl in laughter. I folded my arms tightly over my chest as I glared back at her, leaning against the counter before me slightly.  


“So you’ve been awake for a while,” I shot back.  


“You woke me up when you came stomping downstairs.”  


“Why did you even sleep here?”  


She put on an expression of hurt as she placed one hand over her heart.  


“I didn’t realize my presence offended you so.”  


“I just thought…” I trailed off, finally giving up and shrugging as I muttered something incomprehensible.  


“I was tired, too,” she replied, shrugging, “and I didn’t want to walk all the way home. I didn’t think you’d mind, though.”  


“I don’t,” I said quickly, “a-actually.”  


“Good.”  


She nodded just before she let out a gaping yawn, running her hand through her hair, once again, seemingly trying to bring life back to the side that had been flattened against her head in her sleep.  


“Okay, there was another reason I stayed,” she sighed, letting her hands fall into her lap as she looked over at me.  


My heart began to pound in my ears as I stared back at her, forcefully swallowing the lump in my throat.  


“Oh?”  


She nodded, pointing a finger sternly at me.  


“I want answers, and I wanted to talk to you first.”  


I let out a sigh, a feeling almost like relief pouring over me.  


I wasn’t sure why, though, since I knew exactly what she wanted to ask, and it wasn’t going to be an easy conversation.  


“Can I eat first?”  


Her finger remained firmly pointed at me as she gave me an expression that could only mean “are you kidding me?”  


“No more avoiding.”  


I let out a heavy sigh, nodding slowly before pushing off the counter and moving around it toward the main room. Talanah quickly pulled her legs in toward herself as I approached the couch, taking a seat on the opposite side. I noted that she had ditched the outer Nora armor portion, leaving the leather underclothing; it was a good thing she was apparently my size.  


“Where do you want me to start?”  


“With you,” she said quickly. “You showed me the speaking journals of that woman, Elisabet, and the one with who I think was GAIA talking about creating a ‘re-instantiation’ of said Elisabet, and then that man was calling you her name—”  


Talanah had begun speaking faster and faster as she went on until I gestured for her to slow down, prompting her to let out a heavy sigh, running her hands through her hair as she shook her head.  


“Yeah, so… let’s start with you. Tell me the story of Aloy.”  


A tight feeling began to appear in my chest as I took a long, slow breath in through my nose, my fingers instinctually playing with the dirtied silk top in my lap.  


“So… well… the story of Aloy…”  


She nodded, looking to me expectantly as I tried to form my thoughts into a coherent shape.  


“Well, the speaking journal with GAIA was right,” I began, nodding slowly. “I… was not born of a woman. Do you remember that room in the Zero Dawn facility with the ‘artificial wombs’?”  


She nodded.  


“You were born from one of them.”  


I nodded.  


“Right, but unlike, say, you or… anyone else you know of—other than me—I’m… I’m not… well, I’m not a ‘new’ person.”  


Confusion creased her face as I chewed the inside of my cheek.  


“A re-instantiation, like GAIA said, was called a clone, long ago. It’s where a near-exact copy of a person, or really any living creature, is made artificially. My—body—is almost one hundred percent an exact copy of Elisabet Sobeck, from a thousand years ago.”  


Talanah stared back at me in total stillness until her face began to change, revelation slowly beginning to spread across it.  


“You… so that… the door…”  


I nodded.  


“That’s why the door and the crate with the drives both called me Elisabet.”  


“Okay, but… what about your mind?” she asked, slowly tapping her temple.  


My heart beat began to skyrocket as I swallowed nervously.  


“The process doesn’t create an exact copy of memories,” I explained, “but… there’s… something else…”  


“Like with that man… what was his name?”  


My jaw clenched as my hands tightened around the silk top in them.  


“Sylens,” I spat. “He first contacted me when I was searching for a man that I knew had ties to the Eclipse—before I even knew who they were—and at first he offered help. He gave me information that helped lead me to a place called Maker’s End, where I first started to learn more about everything with Zero Dawn and the ancient world. He gave me information from there that led to GAIA Prime at the top of the Bitter Climb, the ELEUTHIA facility inside All Mother Mountain… and the Eclipse base where they were using a derelict Tallneck as a way of transmitting their Focus network.”  


Talanah blinked forcefully as she shook her head.  


“They were doing what with a Tallneck?”  


I smirked as I shifted my position on the couch.  


“The Tallnecks all transmit signals, almost constantly, about the area where they roam. Your Focus can intercept these and interpret the information as, for instance, a means of creating a more complete map of the area.”  


“This thing has a map?” Talanah asked, pointing to the Focus alongside her right ear.  


“It does,” I nodded. “You can even set destinations on it and it will help guide you to them.”  


She laughed as she shook her head, drawing her knees in toward her as she wrapped her arms around them.  


“You’re going to have to teach me more about it, sometime,” she said. “Anyway, so this Sylens… he led you right to the Eclipse—”  


“Under the guise of ‘helping’ me take care of them, and get to Zero Dawn. After that, though, I tried to ditch him, to get to Sunfall on my own… but he drugged me like he did you and dragged me into the city as his prisoner.”  


I could see Talanah’s jaw visibly clench.  


“I was captured by the Eclipse and their leader, Helis, but Sylens actually helped me escape, once again.”  


“Okay, so… he has a very confusing history with you,” she said slowly. “That still doesn’t explain why he called you Elisabet, and what you said about ‘something else.’”  


I took a slow, deep breath in as I nodded.  


“He’s always been after ‘knowledge,’ as he says… about everything, really. He’s especially interested in anything related to the ancient world and society from back then. At some point in time, he found information about Elisabet Sobeck… and me.”  


I could feel my fingers shaking as a feeling almost like lightheadedness began to set in and I clenched my shaking fingers into fists in my lap.  


“Shortly after the Proving, where the Eclipse massacred almost all of the young Nora braves just to kill me, something… began to happen.”  


Talanah remained silent, staring back at me with rapt attention.  


“I… wondered if they were just strange…visions… due to stress and emotional distress, but… they started to become more frequent and… I began to… believe they were real.”  


I stared down at my lap, my fingers playing with the fabric at my knees as I fought against the overwhelming urge to not say anything more, to tell her I couldn’t, that she wouldn’t understand.  


“I... was in that place, the Zero Dawn bunker… back when it was fully functioning… a thousand years ago. I spoke to people, too, and… it didn’t feel like a dream. After a while, I discovered that during these visions, things would still—happen—to me, here. I would be in one place, slip into a vision, and when I came out of it, I would be somewhere entirely different. I found myself halfway through conversations I didn’t remember the beginning of, and found out that I had said and done things that justifiably confused people. It was like… like I was a different person during these times.”  


My fingers were shaking so badly that I forced myself to simply clench my hands into fists to try to hide them.  


“During those visions of the ancient facility… people called me Elisabet, and… I saw my reflection and… it looked like I was her. One time, finally, my Focus in those visions had a message. It was from Elisabet Sobeck… addressed directly to me.”  


Talanah’s eyebrows raised as her eyes widened.  


“What do you mean ‘to you’? How?”  


“It… she… in the recording, she addressed me directly as ‘Aloy.’”  


“But—how?!”  


“These visions, like I said, weren’t just visions… I’m pretty sure.”  


“But… but… that doesn’t make sense,” Talanah said, shaking her head. “How could you just—slip into someone else’s life as them—and then just back out?”  


“I wish I had an answer,” I sighed, throwing my arms up in defeat.  


“And how did she kn—?”  


She froze mid-word, her eyes widening as her gaze fixed on mine.  


“When you had your visions…”  


“She was here—as me.”  


Silence fell over us for several long moments before she began to shake her head.  


“I… okay…” she said slowly, releasing her legs from her arms and crossing them before her. “The facility, and the likeness to an ancient woman, and the explanation of the artificial birth are all—their own things, but you had proof to show me. I saw it with my own eyes.”  


I swallowed nervously. I had a feeling this would come eventually.  


“Do you have something—anything—to show me about this?”  


It felt like I was watching my body from the outside as I nodded slowly, reaching up to tap my Focus. My fingers navigated across the various boxes and menus until they brought up the Speaking Journals section. Immediately, I went to the first ones, scanning through them until I came to a stop at one in particular, resetting it to the beginning before hitting a button that looked like three dots in a row beside the empty progress bar.  


I chose the option that said “Share to another device” before a green circle suddenly spun around Talanah’s focus before me. My fingers pressed the confirmation button and almost immediately she started in surprise.  


“Did… did you do that?”  


I nodded.  


“I can show you through your own Focus. Just… watch and listen.”  


“Wait, watch?”  


I didn’t say anything else, but immediately turned to face forward on the couch and hit the play button. As soon as I did, an image of a Nora huntress popped into existence, her hand just falling back to her side.  


“Hey, Aloy, it’s… well, it’s clearly not you, so it must be Elisabet.”  


Almost immediately, I felt Talanah stiffen beside me. The image most certainly did not match the words coming from her mouth, only proving more and more different as the recording went on. Finally, it began to reach the end and I knew what was coming, but it didn’t stop the tight, twisting feeling that appeared in my stomach.  


“So, I already told you I’m from the year 2066, and… well, if this Focus isn’t damaged and lying to me, it’s almost a thousand years _after_ that here, so… I don’t know how the hell I could be your m—”  


The image froze, breathing deeply and visibly swallowing against something, as if she had actually choked on her words for a moment.  


“I don’t know how I could be your mother, but… you look almost exactly like me. For all intents and purposes, you seem to _be_ me…”  


I closed my eyes for a moment, only to clearly see the image of the Jewel with a Focus interface overlaid over it, the recording box open and counting up. My lips felt as if they moved, but the sound of my voice was distant and slightly synthetic sounding. Even though I could see as if my eyes were already open, I forced them to blink or try to open, once again, and I instantly found myself back in the apartment, staring at the purple-hued reflection, her hand held in the air toward the interface I had just seen a moment ago.  


“I’m sure I’ll have more after I hear a little bit from you. Elisabet out.”  


With that, the image froze in place, mid-button press, and the room fell deathly silent. I continued to stare straight ahead at the holographic image, every fiber of my being preventing me from looking over at Talanah. I didn’t want to see what was on her face… I couldn’t.  


Finally, the sound of her softly clearing her throat broke the absolute stillness, but I still couldn’t look at her.  


“That… that… is either… an incredibly elaborate ruse, or…”  


Almost immediately, my heart felt as if it had come to a stop as my breath caught in my throat.  


This had been a bad idea.  


“O-or you… somehow… share a… mind… with… a woman… from a thousand years ago.”  


She seemed to be completely at a loss for words and I couldn’t blame her.  


It did sound crazy.  


A thousand years ago and today.  


“So… your ties to the Old Ones… are… a little more literal…”  


I could only offer a short nod, still not looking in her direction, although my attention had travelled from the frozen image before us to my knees, once again.  


“A-and… your mind… is… not entirely your own…”  


A shiver ran through me and my hands instantly shot up to begin rubbing at my upper arms.  


“I guess not.”  


“So… it’s still… happening? L-like all those times at… at the Zero Dawn bunker?”  


My lips pulled into a thin line as I ran my hands back through my hair, feeling how the outer portions had already dried while the bottom, against my neck, was still rather damp.  


“Something happened… that… changed things.”  


I finally glanced over at her again to see her staring back with an expectant expression.  


“Well…?”  


“We… well… I’ll start with this: I don’t have those visions like I used to.”  


“Really? Because—”  


I held one finger up toward her and she instantly fell silent.  


“As you may have figured, the Elisabet Sobeck of a thousand years ago died… along with all of the other people you saw the recordings of in Zero Dawn. She… she sacrificed herself to try to save her team from the oncoming swarm of machines that were devouring the Earth. When she did that, our— _connection_ —changed.”  


Talanah’s expression had become unreadable, and the tight, panicked feeling in my chest began to rise, once again.  


“It was no longer just… swapping places and seeing things from another person’s eyes…she… we…”  


“You truly shared one mind.”  


I blinked in surprise at her interruption, but slowly found myself nodding in response.  


“Something like that…”  


Talanah let out a heavy sigh as she ran one hand back through her hair, her eyes glazing over slightly, as if suddenly lost in thought.  


“So…” she finally said, her voice barely louder than a whisper, “this whole time… every time you knew exactly what to do or where to go in that bunker… and all those things you knew about this Project Zero Dawn… was because… it—you were kind of— _her_.”  


My lips pulled into a thin line as Talanah shook her head, rubbing at her eyes tiredly.  


“This is… this is a lot to throw at a girl, Aloy.”  


I tried to offer a laugh in response, but it sounded nowhere near amused, so I quickly stopped, resorting to tapping my Focus to close the interface and shifting my position on the couch.  


“So… right now… when I’m talking to you… am… am I talking to… Aloy? Elisabet? Some… some combination?”  


“I-I…” I croaked, a feeling like ice water running through my veins quickly taking hold and paralyzing me.  


That was a question I didn’t even want to ask.  


It was a little too close to home.  


Just before I could offer anything else, however, the sound of a loud knocking came from the front door and we both jumped. The sound of something clattering from my left prompted me to glance over, only to find Talanah lifting her bow from the floor, quickly nocking an arrow as she drew the string back. We remained silent for several moments before the knocking came again and she glanced over at me, nodding toward the door.  


“Yes?” I called.  


“Glad to hear you’re awake, Little Huntress. May I come in?”  


I sighed, shaking my head as Talanah relaxed her bowstring slightly, but still looked confused.  


“Vanasha,” I muttered to her as I began to rise from the couch.  


Before I could walk toward the door, however, something grabbed my left arm and I came to a halt, glancing back. Talanah had my forearm in a vice grip as she stared up at me.  


“I… can we continue this… later?” she whispered.  


I bit my lower lip for several moments before nodding.  


“I’ll hold you to it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, it happened. Mostly.
> 
> See y'all next week.


	8. The Truth, Some of the Truth, and Nothing But the Truth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Monday y'all.
> 
> I've had a perfectly pleasant weekend with my dad visiting from halfway across the country, and I'm posting this chapter after just leaving a local brewery/bar/pub with him, so if there are spelling/grammar errors, I apologize.
> 
> Anyhoo, some of you (i.e. one person in particular who comments regularly...) mentioned something about potential spies or spy-related behavior... well, maybe this chapter it's time to add a bit more "grey area" to this already not very black and white story.
> 
> Also, I honestly swear that one of the ideas in this chapter I had for a while, but then the writer imagine0314 had to go and have a similar idea and post it just before I did in her awesome fic [Of Mother and Machine](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18405200/chapters/43590269) and you should all totally read it, too, but I swear I'm not trying to steal any ideas, we just apparently had very similar ideas of where to go on our own.
> 
> So yeah, with all that out of the way, let's get on with it.

With that, she released me and I made my way to the front door, undoing the heavy bolt lock from the inside and pulling it open. Vanasha stood just outside, dressed in an outfit of her signature purple Carja silks, although I noted how this one particularly bared and showed off the musculature of her midriff and her arms.  


“Well, look at you,” she said, glancing me up and down, “already dressed and washed up. Here I thought I would be waking you up.”  


I rolled my eyes but stepped aside, gesturing farther into the apartment.  


“Thank you,” she intoned, flashing a smile as she slipped through the doorway, pausing to grab the tip of my hair and rub it between her fingers for a moment before humming softly. “I’m glad it’s back to its normal color. Black just wasn’t your thing.”  


“Surprisingly, I didn’t enjoy being coated in grease.”  


She raised one eyebrow at me as the corner of her lips pulled back in a smirk.  


“Really? Hmm… that’s a bit of a shame.”  


I could feel my cheeks grow hot as she laughed and stepped farther into the apartment. It took me a moment or two to remember the front door was wide open and push it closed after her.  


“Oh, I’m sorry,” Vanasha said from behind me. “I didn’t realize I was imposing.”  


“You’re not—well, not really,” Talanah replied as I turned around to find the two of them staring each other down. “We were just wrapping up.”  


“Oh, good. I could come back in an hour or so if I need to.”  


“That will not be necessary,” I snapped, stepping between the two of them. “Talanah was tired, so she slept down here, on my couch. We were just talking about our adventure yesterday.”  


“That’s just the story I’m interested in, too,” Vanasha replied, “and the Sun King, of course.”  


“Yes, yes, I know,” I sighed. “So, you need us to go to the Palace, then?”  


“At least you.”  


I gave her a look and Vanasha’s eyes flicked past me to Talanah for a moment before returning to meet mine.  


“She was there, too,” I said firmly.  


“It’s okay.”  


I glanced back at Talanah to find her getting to her feet, stretching her arms over her head.  


“I’m not really in a state to give audience to a Sun King, anyway.”  


A smirk tugged at my lips as Talanah glanced past me at Vanasha with a similar expression.  


“I’ll catch up with you later today.”  


“You sure?”  


“Yeah,” she said, yawning. “I need to wash up, too, and I do have some Lodge business I should probably see to before they begin to wonder if I’ve fully quit.”  


I nodded as she began to gather her things from about the couch. As she grabbed her quiver of arrows, I suddenly remembered why I had started to come downstairs to get ready in the first place.  


“Wait, Talanah, do you still have those extra drives in your quiver, there?”  


She paused, looking confused for a moment, before realization seemed to dawn on her and she carefully pulled the remaining arrows from it before carefully tipping the metal and leather holder over. The sounds of faint rattling came from within before two small, rectangular metal drives fell out into her waiting hand, although one almost immediately fell to the floor. She managed to catch it by slamming both against her chest, holding them in place until she could put the quiver down and use both hands to hold the drives.  


With a sigh, she held them up toward me, smirking.  


“Close one,” I remarked, taking them from her and quickly activating my Focus to scan them.  


I let out a sigh of relief when I saw that one of them was the missing GAIA drive, as well as the last one for POSEIDON, as well.  


“I’ll keep these with the others,” I said. “Don’t need them to go missing now, after all.”  


“Right,” she replied, nodding as her lips pulled into a thin line.  


With that, Talanah began to finish packing her things as I told Vanasha I would be right back and hurried upstairs, grabbing my dirty clothing, as well. Once back in the bedroom, I tossed the clothing with the discarded pair of pants and placed the drives with their counterparts, smiling as I looked over the complete set.  


“At least a couple hundred years late, it seems, but better late than never.”  


With a sigh, I grabbed the small key off the table beside the lamp and turned to head back downstairs, but paused as my gaze passed over my weapons and equipment on the floor. I debated taking them with me, but ultimately decided against it as I headed back downstairs.  


I guess I could just hope that everything wouldn’t suddenly start exploding, for once.  


As I reached the bottom of the stairs, I found that Talanah had already left, and Vanasha was idly milling about the apartment, her arms folded over her chest. At the sound of my footsteps, she glanced over, smiling as her arms fell by her sides, once again.  


“Ready to go?”  


“As I’ll ever be.”  


Vanasha laughed softly.  


“Works for me.”  


With that, Vanasha led the way out of the apartment, waiting for me to lock the door before I jogged to catch up. The streets of Meridian were already awake and alive with throngs of people going about their day, although other than the Merchants, I had little idea what anyone else in the city actually did. There weren’t offices or computer-tech jobs…  


I shook my head as a strange feeling throbbed in my temples. Almost as quickly as it had appeared, however, it passed and I let out a heavy sigh, shaking my head. As I did, I was made incredibly aware of the mane of hair that whipped around me, prompting me to spit some of it out of my mouth and try to brush it out of the way with my hands.  


“You know, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen you with your hair down.”  


I gave Vanasha a look as she smirked, looking me over yet again.  


“You should do it more often.”  


Once again, the burning appeared in my cheeks and I quickly looked away, nervously tidying and brushing my fingers through my hair.  


It had been—a while—since I’d had to contend with anything like this.  


Thankfully, the rest of our walk passed with incident and we soon found ourselves at the heavily-guarded entrance to the bridge to the palace. The guards immediately stepped aside for Vanasha as she greeted them, and I noted the curious, interested looks several gave me as I passed, as well. Once we were on the bridge, I heard the sound of their pikes pounding on the ground, and I assumed that they had stepped back into formation.  


“Can’t be too careful, still,” Vanasha said.  


“No, I wouldn’t be.”  


She gave me an odd look, but didn’t say anything as we reached the stone dais at the far end of the bridge. Immediately, my eyes fell on the figure waiting for us at the foot of the stairs, the usual odd, half-smile he always wore affixed on his features.  


“Welcome back, Aloy,” Blameless Marad said, offering a small nod. “I heard that you have quite the tale of your escape from Sunfall.”  


“Sounds like you already heard that part of the story.”  


“Very true,” he replied, laughing softly. “Well, if you would be so kind as to tell the rest of it, I’ll show you to the Sun King.”  


“Afraid we’d get lost?” Vanasha chimed in, smirking.  


“No, Vanasha, I was not. I simply wanted to make sure she made it to the Sun King without any… detours.”  


Confusion creased my face as I glanced between Marad and Vanasha to find the two of them locked in a staring match. For a brief moment, Vanasha’s smile and confident demeanor cracked, giving way to visible agitation. Just as soon as it had appeared, however, it returned to normal.  


“Well, then lead on.”  


With that, Marad turned on his heel and gestured for us to go ahead of him up the steps. I glanced between the two of them one more time before starting up them in the lead. A feeling of dread was beginning to settle over me as I tried not to let my reaction be too obvious.  


This was already shaping up to be quite the morning.  


As I reached the top of the steps, I found the small platform with the actual throne to be empty, the gates at its entrance closed. My gaze then moved to the area through the large doors to my right, where the various couches and tables of the more informal sitting area where I had met with Avad several times, already, sat. As I did, I found two figures rising from their seats on the couches, and a small smile pulled at my lips. I began to walk toward them as the one on the right began to approach, as well, holding his arms out.  


“Fire and spit, look who made it back in one piece!”  


I grinned as Erend pulled me into a tight embrace, squeezing the breath out of me for a moment as I simply tried to offer the embrace in return and a feeble pat on the back. He released me a moment later, thankfully, and I took a deep breath, adjusting my clothing slightly from where his armor had tugged and pulled at it.  


“So I heard your trip was a success,” he said, placing his hands on his hips.  


“Yes, it was… very much so.”  


“And I also heard you almost got killed getting out of Sunfall.”  


“Also true.”  


“Well, sounds like my kind of story,” he laughed, stepping back and gesturing to the couches where he had originally come from moments ago. “Let’s hear it, yeah?”  


I grinned as I followed him to the sitting area, where Avad stood waiting, a soft smile on his face.  


“Aloy, I’m glad to see you back, as well,” he offered. “I apologize if I seem insistent to speak to you, but… well, I am more than a little curious.”  


I nodded, my lips pulling into a thin line.  


Of course he was.  


Everyone was.  


The woman who saved the world suddenly runs off to the home base of the people she just stopped from killing everyone on a secret mission that she won’t tell anyone details about.  


What’s not to wonder about?  


Avad cleared his throat, bringing my attention back to the present as he gestured to the couches.  


“Please, take a seat.”  


I nodded, obliging him and sitting next to Erend on the couch opposite his, while Vanasha took a seat beside Avad.  


“So… first and foremost, I heard that your exit from Sunfall was… an ordeal,” he began. “Did the Shadow Carja recognize you?”  


“A few did,” I replied, nodding.  


Avad shifted uncomfortably as he glanced to Marad.  


“Did they insinuate that you were on a mission set by myself, or the Carja in Meridian, as a whole?”  


“I don’t know, they didn’t last long enough to explain.”  


Avad looked somewhat confused as Vanasha let out a soft laugh.  


“Talanah and I were cornered, but Petra and Vanasha arrived just in time to… dispatch them.”  


He glanced over at Vanasha as Erend let out a hearty laugh.  


“So…”  


“The ones who got close enough to recognize me didn’t survive.”  


Avad nodded, finally seemed to understand the implication.  


“Well… I hate to say that any killing is justified, but… I’m relieved.”  


Right… didn’t need to start a whole, new war over me.  


“So… other than that… did you find what you were seeking?”  


I nodded.  


“We did, deep beneath the Sun Ring.”  


“You mentioned there was something more beneath the city.”  


“There is,” I nodded. “An ancient bunker, a facility used by the Old Ones.”  


“For what purpose?”  


I took a deep breath.  


This was going to be a tough one to explain… or skirt around.  


“To negate the threat that destroyed them.”  


That could work.  


Avad suddenly looked much more interested, sliding forward in his seat.  


“What was this threat?”  


“The same one we faced,” I explained. “The ancient machines the Eclipse raised. They destroyed life once before, and would surely have done it again.”  


The spark in Avad’s eyes was almost amusing in how child-like it was; the wonder, curiosity, and general excitement so unbefitting of what I imagined of the king of an entire nation of peoples.  


“So this facility… it was to create a weapon?”  


“Not exactly.”  


Confusion creased his face, as I noticed something flash across Vanasha’s and Marad’s faces, as well.  


“So what was it, then?”  


“A means to create. To restore.”  


By now, all of them seemed lost, and I found myself subconsciously rubbing my clammy palms against the fabric of my pants, needing to get the nervous energy out somehow.  


“What do you mean, Aloy?” Marad asked, surprising everyone, seemingly.  


“The machines were… stronger back then,” I explained. “They hadn’t weathered a thousand years of damage from being buried in the ground. The Old Ones had suffered much loss, and they knew that merely defeating them would not be enough. Something had to come after.”  


The expressions on the other three’s faces were priceless.  


If only I were going into the full truth.  


“We would not be here… would not have all of this,” I gestured to the buildings and—well, everything—around us, “without what they accomplished there.”  


After a few more moments of stunned silence, Avad recovered first, clearing his throat.  


“So, pray tell Aloy, what did you find there, now?”  


“Information.”  


Vanasha’s and Marad’s faces fell slightly, but Avad seemed as interested as ever.  


“Information?”  


“Yes, about their creations.”  


“So… what do you plan to do with this?”  


I paused, glancing between the purple-clothed spy and the ever-mysterious security counsel before turning back to Avad.  


“I want to rebuild it.”  


I was met with raised eyebrows from all around.  


“What they created also contains pricelessly valuable information that could better the whole world. We could learn about things that we’ve only guessed at for decades—centuries, maybe. There’s so much we could learn about our own world—and its past—from what that facility contained.”  


Several long moments of total silence followed before someone cleared their throat.  


“How do you plan to do this?” Vanasha asked softly.  


I sighed heavily.  


“There is a place in the Nora lands… they consider it especially sacred…”  


“That mountain?” Erend interjected, causing all of us to jump in surprise.  


“Y-yeah, that one,” I said, once I had recovered.  


“What’s within it that you need so badly?” he continued.  


“Within the mountain is a… door.”  


Blank looks met my words from all around, once again.  


“Beyond it,” I continued, “is an area most Nora have never been.”  


“Most… except you?” Vanasha interjected, raising one eyebrow.  


“Except me,” I confirmed. “It contains more relics of the Old Ones… and I think it may hold the means to rebuild this creation of theirs.”  


I noticed how Marad and Vanasha exchanged glances, but Avad still appeared to be enraptured by what I was saying.  


“Will the Nora be receptive to this?” he asked.  


“They will have to be,” I replied. “I’m their _Annointed_.”  


A smirk tugged at Vanasha’s lips as I heard Erend chuckle softly beside me.  


“And what do you plan to do with all of this, once it’s rebuilt?” Marad asked.  


“It’s for the world, so… maybe…”  


I stared vacantly at the table between all of us for a moment before taking a deep breath.  


“Maybe try to heal it… even just a little bit.”  


Avad nodded slowly, an almost wistful expression coming over his features. At the same time, I noticed what appeared to be a frown tugging at Marad’s lips and an unreadable expression came over Vanasha as she stared back at me, her head reclined slightly as she looked at me with half-hooded eyes.  


“This… information,” Marad began, slowly pacing past the end of the couch by Avad, “seems as if it could be incredibly powerful.”  


I immediately knew where he was going with this, and a sinking feeling tugged at my stomach.  


“If it fell into the wrong hands…”  


“It won’t.”  


He paused, glancing over at me with raised eyebrows.  


“And how do you know that?”  


“Because they’ll have to rip it out of my cold dead ones.”  


Several moments of stunned silence followed my statement before Avad cleared his throat.  


“That… uh… that is certainly a strong statement, Aloy…”  


“It’s true,” I said quickly, clenching my hands into fists in my lap. “I’ve almost died how many times in search of this?”  


My gaze travelled to Marad, who still seemed somewhat dubious as he stared down at me.  


“And in service to protect Meridian?”  


His jaw worked tensely as I turned my attention back to Avad.  


“I certainly understand, Aloy,” he said, nodding.  


“I’m glad we’ve reached an understanding, then.”  


“If there is anything I can offer—”  


“Your Radiance,” Marad cut in, stopping Avad short. “I think it is best we discuss any course of action before jumping to conclusions.”  


“Marad, I trust you on many counts, you know this,” Avad said, his voice laced with an edge I had never heard before, “but I am also capable of thinking on my own.”  


He turned to look at the man beside him, his posture straightening as the childlike wonder and excitement from moments ago gave way to the poise and stance more befitting of a man tasked with leading an entire kingdom.  


“Aloy has proven herself trustworthy and an ally on numerous occasions,” he began. “We do not need to treat her as if she is a war criminal, or a defector who may return at any moment. Were it not for her, Meridian would have burned, twice. We must be careful and defensive at this time, yes, but we also must show support of our allies if we hope to have any, at all.”  


A small smile began to tug at my lips as Avad glared at Marad for several moments longer before turning back to me.  


“Aloy, if there is anything I can offer to assist you in your journey, please let me know.”  


“Thank you,” I replied, nodding. “I… will have to think about it for a little while. I don’t plan to head back for another day or so.”  


“Then please, pay me a visit before you do, and let me know,” Avad replied, nodding.  


Several moments of awkward silence followed before he sighed and clapped his hands down on his knees.  


“So, I feel that our meeting here has come to a close,” he said. “Thank you, Aloy, for your information, and to Vanasha for ensuring her safe return from Sunfall. Aloy, please give my thanks to Petra Forgewoman, as well, and to Talanah Khane Padish.”  


I nodded, unsure what else to do.  


“This meeting may be considered adjourned, then.”  


With that, everyone rose to their feet and Avad quickly turned to Marad, nodding toward the right before stepping around the couch and beginning to walk away. The counsel nodded in response, giving me one last, lingering look before turning to follow after him.  


“I have to agree with Petra’s nickname,” Vanasha said, arching her back as she twisted her torso back and forth slightly in stretching. “You certainly have a spark to you, Aloy.”  


I gave her an awkward smile before nodding.  


“Thanks…”  


“Don’t look so bashful,” she laughed. “I admire it.”  


My cheeks began to burn, but I could do little else than offer a similar response, yet again.  


“I want to see you before you leave, again, too,” she said.  


“Oh?”  


“Mhm,” she hummed. “Don’t worry, I’ll find a time.”  


“You’ll—?”  


“You know how I am, Aloy,” she interrupted, offering a wink before sauntering off toward the throne room.  


I watched her go for several moments before shaking my head, laughing.  


“She’s something else…”  


“I’m still not used to it.”  


I glanced over at Erend to find that he had remained beside me, a grin on his features.  


“Glad to know it’s not just me, then.”  


He laughed before glancing toward the large doors after Vanasha before turning back to me.  


“I’m on duty for a bit longer today. Want to relay more of the fun stuff from your adventure than you wanted to tell Avad, over a drink or two this afternoon, maybe?”  


An actual smile tugged at my lips as I nodded.  


“Yeah, I could use something a little more low-key.”  


“Sounds like a plan, then. Where do you want to meet?”  


“Pick your favorite place.”  


“I could probably use something to eat then, too. You remember Jira’s?”  


I nodded.  


“Let’s say there. Meet in two hours?”  


“Gives me time to stock up on some things.”  


“I’ll meet you there, then,” he nodded. “Just make sure you don’t get started without me.”  


I rolled my eyes as he laughed and gestured toward the exit where Vanasha had left moments ago.  


“I’ll walk you out?”

After only an hour of walking amidst the open markets of Meridian, I could already feel my clothing sticking to me from the sweat that seemed to pour down my face and neck in buckets. At some point, I had managed to tie my hair up into an odd bun-like shape that, while most certainly messy and haphazard, at least allowed some kind of air to blow across my neck. It was a small relief, though.  


With a heavy sigh, I turned away from yet another weapons merchant trying to sell me ammunition that looked somehow more home-made than what I had made at the camp the night before entering Sunfall.  


So much for all those claims of amazing craftsmanship among the Carja.  


On the other hand, the jewelry and clothing I had seen on display were certainly deserving of the praise I had heard from others. The silks I had bought in the past, and was currently wearing, were certainly comfortable and showed a great amount of attention to detail in the designs. I had to forcefully tear myself away from a table of gleaming glass bracelets and necklaces, however, as the bright colors and the jaggedly beautiful shapes had drawn my eyes like some kind of insect to a fire.  


As I rounded the corner of the street, the sound of heavy clanging and shouting came from up ahead and my head instantly swiveled around toward it. There was a decent crowd gathered at the far end of the street, all of them surrounding a particular merchant stall, and I quickly made my way toward them. When I reached the back, I craned my neck, trying to see what was so loud and so interesting, but I still couldn’t see through the mass of bodies.  


Another loud clang sounded from up ahead and the front of the crowd let out raucous cheers, leaving the back to mutter and groan about how they couldn’t see what was happening. With an irritated huff, I decided I had had enough and quickly moved along the back of the crowd until I found a point I could slip between.  


Within moments, I had managed to wind and worm my way through the mass of people until I came to a point just behind the first row. As I did, I carefully leaned around a rather burly man’s left shoulder to see exactly what was so interesting. Two people stood in the center of an open semi-circle, one adorned in what appeared to be a set of metal armor that looked oddly familiar with hexagonal plates that, all together, made a rather honeycomb-like design, and the other wielding what appeared to be one of the pikes the Carja city guards all carried.  


The one with the weapon adjusted his grip on it before suddenly charging at the other figure, jabbing the tip at their side as hard as he could. The blade slammed into the armor, emitting a loud clang like the others I had heard, but it quickly bounced and slid off to the side, leaving the attacker staggering at the sudden shift in momentum and direction.  


The figure in the armor quickly grabbed the wooden shaft of the pike and ripped it from his hands, sending the figure sprawling onto the ground to cheers and howls of laughter from the crowd.  


“And there you have it,” a familiar voice called out as I spotted a third figure stepping around the man on the ground as she gestured to the seemingly victorious, armored figure, “the best damn metal design you’re going to see this side of the Cut!”  


The crowd clapped and cheered as the man on the ground clambered to his feet, groaning and stretching his back. The people around me began to turn to leave, but I quickly slipped out of the way and into the space that had once been the demonstration area.  


“Next time, I’m wearing the armor, and you’re taking stabs at me,” the man from the ground said, jabbing a finger at his apparent compatriot, who I realized was a woman with similar dark skin, and who bore a striking resemblance to him.  


“Don’t worry, I’ll enjoy that, too.”  


Just then, a heavy hand clapped me on the shoulder and I jumped, letting out a yelp of surprise. I whirled toward its owner to find Petra laughing and shaking her head.  


“I only said your name three times, flame hair,” she said. “You damage your hearing in that escape?”  


I shoved her playfully as a grin tugged at my lips.  


“I should have known I’d find you at the center of a crowd like this,” I said.  


“A woman’s gotta make money somehow,” she laughed. “If I’m here for a while, I might as well take advantage. The Carja do love their sport.”  


I shrugged, but nodded in agreement at the same time.  


“Who’s the hired help, then?”  


“We are not merely hired help,” the man said, suddenly appearing beside Petra. “Petra and I go back quite a while, actually. If anything, we are business partners.”  


“Oh?” I replied, raising my eyebrows slightly.  


“Yes, actually,” he continued, returning the narrowed-eye look Petra gave him.  


“Aloy, this is Burgrend,” she said, gesturing to him, and then to the woman behind them who was just taking off the armor and dropping it onto a table with a heavy thud, “and his daugh—”  


“Business—partner,” he cut in quickly.  


Petra gave him a look for a moment or two before clearing her throat and turning back to me.  


“His business partner who also happens to be his daughter, Varga.”  


The woman looked up at the sound of her name, eyes widened.  


“What did I do?”  


“Nothing,” Burgrend said, waving dismissively.  


“Come here, I want you to meet someone,” Petra added, waving encouragingly.  


The woman stepped beside Burgrend, revealing that she was younger than I had expected. If I had to guess, I’d say we were just about the same age.  


“Varga, this is Aloy.”  


She suddenly looked much more interested, her eyebrows raising slightly.  


“The Nora who can tame machines and actually goes delving in ruins?”  


“Not exactly a Nora,” I said quickly, “but sounds like the rest is right.”  


“Oh, I was going to say…” she muttered, eying me up and down, an unreadable expression on her face.  


“Anyway, Burgrend and I knew each other from back in the Claim,” Petra chimed in, “and Varga and he have stopped through Free Heap on occasion.”  


“And now you brought them along to Meridian?”  


“We decided to come,” he said quickly.  


“I may have enticed him with the promise of easy shards,” Petra whispered, leaning in but speaking much too loudly for it to be an actual secret.  


Burgrend opened his mouth to speak again, but Varga hit him on the shoulder.  


“Oh, give it a rest,” she sighed. “Come on, I can see a few people eying the wares. Somebody needs to actual sell something.”  


She gave Petra a smirk and she made a “pssh” sound, waving dismissively, but still Varga turned to head back toward the stall.  


“Well, it was a pleasure meeting you, Aloy,” Burgrend said, giving me a small bow before turning to follow his daughter. “I hope to see you around here if you need any supplies.”  


I rolled my eyes as soon as he had turned his back, turning my attention soon after to Petra.  


“You know, at first I thought Erend was a fluke, and then I met you, and I still wondered if it was just random chance, but now…”  


“What are you talking about?” she asked, her face contorting in confusion.  


“You Oseram are all so dramatic,” I teased, grinning.  


“What?! By the forge, Aloy, you’re looking to start a fight with words like that.”  


Petra punched my shoulder playfully and I hopped backward, laughing.  


“So, did you and Talanah have a restful night?”  


My face began to burn as I stepped forward and delivered a punch of my own to Petra’s shoulder, albeit maybe a little harder than she had to mine. She didn’t seem to notice, however, and simply turned so her arm took most of the brunt.  


“I slept in my own bed, by myself,” I shot back, “thank you very much.”  


“I’m only teasing, little spark,” she laughed.  


I grumbled something incomprehensible, which only made her laugh even more.  


“So, I take it you come down here to visit me, though?” she managed, finally calming down.  


“I mean, technically I came down here looking to stock up on some supplies before I leave.”  


“Leave?” Petra said quickly, her eyebrows raising. “Already?”  


“Yeah, I… there’s something I have to do,” I said. “The things I found under Sunfall were just the beginning.”  


“What were you looking for, anyway?”  


I glanced around, the image of Vanasha’s and Marad’s expressions from earlier immediately coming to mind and I cleared my throat.  


“Let’s talk about that later, somewhere less… obvious.”  


A strange expression crossed Petra’s face for a moment, but her lips quickly pulled into a thin line and she nodded.  


“Catch you for a drink later, maybe?”  


A thought occurred to me and I nodded.  


“How does in an hour sound?”  


Petra looked somewhat surprised by that, staring back at me in stunned silence for a moment or two before regaining her ability to speak.  


“That is not the answer I expected from you, to be honest,” she laughed. “Is there something you had in mind?”  


“I’m meeting someone then, and I think maybe I could tell both of you at the same time.”  


“Hmm… a three-way meeting?”  


I rolled my eyes as I let out an exasperated sigh.  


“I’m only teasing, again,” Petra said. “Where?”  


“Do you know Jira’s Inn and Tavern?”  


“Fire and spit, I do!” she laughed. “I’ve got myself a room there while I’m in Meridian.”  


“Well, then that works perfectly, doesn’t it?”  


She laughed, nodding.  


“Aye. So meet there in an hour and you’ll tell me your ‘mysterious secret?’”  


I gave her a look, but she just grinned.  


“We’ll talk, at least.”  


“Works for me.”  


With that, she clapped me on the shoulder.  


“I better do some work here if we’re going to meet up so soon. I look forward to meeting whoever this other person is, too.”  


“I… think you might have met already.”  


“Talanah?”  


“Nope.”  


She gave me a look and I just grinned.  


“Guess you’ll have to find that out, too.”  


Petra simply sighed, shaking her head.  


“A woman of many secrets…” she paused, glancing over at me with a devilish smirk. “A woman after my own heart, that means.”  


I shoved her playfully, but my cheekbones had grown incredibly hot.  


“You better go before your face turns the color of your hair,” she remarked, laughing before turning back to her stall.  


I grumbled something after her, but turned on the spot and began to stalk off down the street, quickly leaving Petra and her stall behind. I soon lost track of where I was going and simply moved through the streets aimlessly until I found myself ascending a set of stone steps into a large, circular space surrounded by stone walls. Several people gave me odd looks as I slowly turned in place, taking it all in. It all felt so… familiar, and yet…  


The sound of a man’s voice singing suddenly echoed across the space and I whirled around until I located the source: a figure dressed in flowing, red robes that covered him almost entirely from head to toe, an elaborate, uncomfortable-looking headpiece completed the ensemble. As I scanned him over, I quickly realized that the attire looked familiar. It was not unlike the dramatic crier’s outfit in the Sunfall throne room, albeit in much brighter colors.  


Soon, however, more voices began to join his and I saw several other robed figures begin to converge on the raised platform. Many of the other people who milled about the space began to move before them, as well, many raising their hands toward the sky, or clasping them before their faces.  


Suddenly, it hit me.  


It was a church—or a temple, of some kind.  


I continued to watch from afar as the monks—priests—whoever they were—continued their song. Many of the gathered crowd moved their lips along with them, but I did not hear a chorus of voices arise from them. This continued for a minute or two before the last notes of the song faded away and the robed figures began to split off, leaving the raised stage-like area. The gathered crowd also began to disburse, many muttering a last few words to themselves before departing.  


I half expected to see them trace the pattern of a cross on their faces, but the image passed as quickly as it had first occurred.  


“You seem to be new here.”  


I jumped at the sound of the voice so close to me, whirling to my left to find one of the robed figures a foot or two away.  


“What?”  


“I said you seem to be new here,” he repeated. “You remained on the outside and watched, but did not approach.”  


“Oh… yeah, you could say that.”  


“I also get the feeling that you are not exactly Carja.”  


I made a sound halfway between a laugh and a snort as I glanced around the open space, once again.  


“What makes you say that?”  


“Well, despite the clothing, I’ve never met a Carja with your hair color before.”  


“I’d be surprised if you’ve ever met someone with my hair color, from what I’ve seen,” I replied, turning back to the man.  


“So then you are not of anywhere?”  


I opened my mouth to reply but found that no actual answer had come to me. Finally, after several moments of awkward silence, I forced my mouth closed and swallowed heavily.  


“I’m ‘of’ somewhere, just… very far from here.”  


The robed man considered me for several long moments before nodding slowly.  


“And yet you nearly gave your life for this place.”  


I raised my eyebrows slightly, feeling the hair on the back of my neck stand up.  


“So you recognized me, then?”  


“Yes, however I did not want to bring it up immediately,” he replied. “I had the sense that you do not relish in such admiration.”  


He had no idea.  


“Not particularly, no.”  


“And while humbleness can be admirable,” he continued, “why do you feel so?”  


I shrugged, kicking one foot idly across the stone pattern on the floor and sending a small piece that broke off one stone in particular skittering.  


“Never really been my thing to understand praise.”  


“Yet you seek it?”  


“From some, maybe,” I said and suddenly paused, tilting my head to one side slightly. “You’re really good at making people talk, aren’t you?”  


“I offer my attention when I feel others need it,” he explained, raising his hands in what would normally feel like a defensive gesture, but somehow he made it seem less so, “and advice when they ask for it.”  


I let out a short laugh, shaking my head as I braced my hands on my hips.  


“Okay, so maybe I want some advice.”  


“I can try my best.”  


“If something was once built by a team… but now one could learn from it and build it themselves… should they?”  


He stared back at me with a pensive expression for several long moments before beginning to nod slowly.  


“Forgive me for answering with a question, but let me posit this: is a team not one, but a summation of all its parts?”  


His implication ran through my head on repeat as I found a shiver running down my spine and I absentmindedly rubbed at my upper arms, feeling the sheen of sweat on them that told me it should have been hot, but I might as well have had a bucket of snow dumped over my head.  


“You’re quite the wordsmith,” I finally said, looking back up at the man.  


“Perhaps because I hear so many of them.”  


I shook my head as I let out a sigh, letting my arms fall to my sides, once again.  


“What’s your name?”  


“I am known as Mournful Namman,” he replied, bowing slightly.  


“I assume you know my name, then.”  


“Perhaps, but I can still ask.”  


I stared back at him for a moment or two, chewing the inside of my cheek before I began to nod.  


“E—A-Aloy,” I stammered. “Aloy. Sobeck. Aloy Sobeck.”  


He nodded slowly, in response.  


“Well, Aloy Sobeck, I bid you well in your reconstruction.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> O.o


	9. The Right Stuff

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy monday, y'all.
> 
> This will probably be the last chapter that takes place in Meridian, but not the last with a lot of these characters, as you'll see.
> 
> That's really all there is to this one, enjoy.
> 
> If you've got any theories about what will happen next, extreme emotional outbursts, questions or concerns, or just wanna say hi, feel free to leave a comment! I try to answer relatively quickly, depending on personal business and schedule.

“I should have figured how you’d know this place!”  


The immediate, booming voice that called out amidst the tavern caused me to jump and nearly fall out of my seat, but I managed to quickly recover and locate its source within only moments. Petra shoved the front door closed behind her with a loud thud and immediately made her way past the other patrons until she came to a stop beside me, shoving me with her shoulder playfully before smirking toward Erend beside me.  


“And hello to you, too, Petra,” he shot back, grinning.  


“Are you here on official… _escort_ business?” she said, raising one eyebrow and glancing between the two of us.  


My face immediately began to burn as I heard Erend make a choked sound just before his mug slammed down on the counter.  


“I do have a room you could borrow,” she continued, laughing.  


“That won’t be necessary,” he said quickly.  


“I have my own, anyway,” I muttered, quickly grabbing the mostly-full mug in front of me and drinking almost a quarter of it in one go, despite the burning feeling it left in the back of my throat.  


Petra’s face immediately lit up as she grabbed my shoulders and shook me hard enough that most of my drink spilled onto my chest or the counter, but she didn’t seem to care.  


“I like you more and more each day,” she laughed.  


Finally, when she released me, I carefully placed the mug on the counter and wiped the ale off me as best I could, but it did little with my hands. Thankfully, the barmaid and owner behind the counter, Jira, slid a towel to me and I used it to wipe myself down as best I could. As soon as I put the towel back on the bar counter, she slid two mugs toward Petra and I, swiping the towel back in the same motion.  


“This ‘uns on her tab,” she said, smirking and nodding toward Petra.  


“You think ‘cuz I’m in Meridian means I have all kinds of shards to throw around, now?”  


“You certainly acted that way last night.”  


Petra let out a loud “pssh” sound but took her mug and drank deeply from it without another actual word. Jira rolled her eyes but walked away to tend to some of the other patrons, leaving the three of us alone.  


“So, you were saying about the horde of Corruptors?” Erend asked, turning to me.  


“Hold on, the what now?” Petra immediately intruded. “Aloy, you’ve got a lot to tell me about what happened down in that ruin, I think.”  


“He’s being an ass,” I sighed, giving Erend a look as he only laughed and took another drink. “There were no Corruptors in that ruin. There were Eclipse, though.”  


She looked almost just as interested at that as she had with Erend’s outlandish claim.  


“Eclipse? They’re still around?”  


“The Shadow Carja aren’t gone,” I explained, “and from what I know… pretty much all of their soldiers, the Kestrels, are considered part of the Eclipse.”  


“An entire nation… part of a cult.”  


I bit my tongue from saying anything on that subject, and instead allowed her to sigh and shake her head.  


“So what happened with them?”  


Between intermittent questions, exclamations, and shoulder punches, I eventually told the story of Talanah’s and my adventure into the ruins of Zero Dawn, judiciously leaving out the parts about the hallucinations. Finally, when I got to the part where we found the drives, I paused, taking a deep drink from my mug and frowning at the taste. It was different than the first one and almost seemed more… pine needle-esque.  


“Not a fan?”  


I noticed that Jira was standing right in front of me, organizing a pile of wooden bowls with one eyebrow raised toward me.  


“N-no, not necessarily,” I said quickly, “just… it’s different.”  


“It’s my new batch,” she said. “I wanted to try something new… something I got from Raif on one of his ‘excursions.’”  


I looked at her curiously as she placed the stack of bowls on the counter behind her.  


“He said it was something called a Pallail,” she explained, “something he, yet again, ‘found’ from the Old Ones.”  


“A Pale Ale?”  


Jira, Petra, and Erend all looked at me with surprised expressions before the barmaid finally shrugged.  


“I mean… I don’t know. I’d never heard of it.”  


I felt the tips of my ears grow hot as I subconsciously sank lower in my seat, mumbling something about “seen it once, too” and quickly taking another drink of the suddenly all-too-familiar ale.  


Finally, when Jira had wandered off, again, Petra pressured me on with the story. I sighed and eventually relented, even explaining Sylens’ appearance. They also had no familiarity with him, however exhibited what seemed to be anger or disgust at my description of our history. When I mentioned the details of how I left him, they both cheered, pounding their mugs on the counter.  


“Serves that piece of filth right,” Erend said.  


“You were too nice, Aloy,” Petra added, patting me on the back.  


Not the first time I’d heard that before.  


For a moment, I felt fingers tightly closing around my throat, but as I rubbed at it, the feeling disappeared.  


“So then you and Talanah grabbed those ‘drives’ and bailed?” Erend asked.  


“More or less.”  


“More or less?!” Petra repeated. “She damn near had the whole Shadow Carja army on ‘er tail sprinting out of Sunfall!”  


“You certainly know how to stir up a crowd, it seems,” he shot back, laughing.  


“What can I say? Everyone wants a piece of me.”  


Everyone laughed, but I caught the slight hesitation in each of our responses and we all quickly took drinks from our mugs.  


“So anyway,” I continued, “Petra shot some of them in their faces and Vanasha slit some throats, then we grabbed some Striders and rode off into the sunset.”  


The other two laughed and Erend banged his mug on the counter before holding it up toward us.  


“And cheers to making it out alive,” he said as we all met his mug with ours in return. “Now that’s a story for the Vanguard, if I ever heard one.”  


“Yeah, just… maybe…”  


“I know, I know,” he said, raising his hands defensively, “I won’t tell.”  


I gave look to Petra and she feigned shock.  


“I’m insulted, flame ‘air.”  


“I told you earlier…”  


“And I warned _you_ earlier,” she shot back.  


“About what?” Erend chimed in.  


“She’s looking to pitch a fight with some Oseram,” she said, leaning around me.  


“What? How so?”  


“She called us ‘dramatic.’”  


“Whoa, hey now, Aloy…”  


I rolled my eyes as they continued to bicker and make statements of bravado about how I was wrong, while making wild gestures and seemingly recounting folk tales of Oseram past. Finally, when they had run their course, I glanced between them, smirking.  


“So… you have yet to prove me wrong.”  


Each of them punched one of my shoulders playfully and I laughed, folding inward on myself slightly in an attempt to get away from them.  


“So, how was the meeting with the Sun King?” Petra sighed, accepting her third or fourth mug from Jira.  


Erend and I exchanged glances, each of our lips pulling into thin lines before we turned back to Petra.  


“It was… interesting.”  


She raised her eyebrows, pausing with her mug almost to her lips.  


“That doesn’t sound like a good interesting.”  


I sighed, running my hands through my hair before letting them fall into my lap as I turned toward her.  


“I want to take the drives from the ruins to the Nora lands, to the ruins where I—where I found out about those under Sunfall.”  


“Why? And when?”  


“Soon,” I replied, “as in the next day or two.”  


Petra spluttered, coughing slightly as she held her mug away from her face.  


“You’re planning to leave already?”  


“I have to,” I said. “Those drives, they’re… they’re incredibly important. They can help the world—help everyone—and they’re doing no good just sitting in my apartment here in Meridian.”  


“But… why Nora lands?”  


“That ruin—”  


“You said that, but what’s so special about it? It’s a ruin, right?”  


“Yes—technically—but… it was more intact than most I’ve seen.”  


A spark of something appeared in Petra’s eyes as she leaned forward excitedly.  


“You mean… something of the Old Ones that isn’t entirely caved in and buried under rocks and moss?”  


I nodded.  


“This place withstood the All Mother Mountain for a thousand years… and in that time, no one entered… not until I did recently.”  


Petra pounded her hand on the bar counter, causing me to jump in surprise at the noise.  


“You can’t tell me about this and not expect me to ask to come, now.”  


My heart rate began to pound as I swallowed nervously.  


“I-I… I don’t know…”  


“Aloy, I just said,” she replied, leaning in close to me and gripping my right shoulder firmly, “you can’t expect me to not go. For the love of every forge fire and pound of steel in the world… I’m asking you.”  


I blinked at how pleading her tone was. This was certainly not what I had expected.  


“W-why?” I finally asked lamely, no other words coming to mind.  


“Why?!” she suddenly boomed, causing me to recoil at the volume. “Aloy, in case you hadn’t noticed, we Oseram like to know how things work, especially us Tinkerers. You can’t bait me with the chance to see real ancient constructions, their machines and the things they built, and then just leave me out to bake in the sun like that!”  


I remained frozen in place for several long moments, staring at Petra as she met my gaze, her jaw set and her hand clenched into a fist on the bar beside her. After several long moments, I opened my mouth to speak, but she cut me off.  


“The next words out of your mouth better be, ‘you’re right, Petra. Come with me.’”  


I glanced back toward Erend only to find a tight-lipped expression on his face. After a few moments he simply nodded back toward Petra and I slowly turned to her.  


“It’s going to be hard to explain to the Nora why an Oseram is allowed in their Sacred Mountain.”  


She stared back at me for a few moments, her eyes flicking between each of mine as I sighed.  


“You’re right Petra. Come with me.”  


“I knew it,” she laughed, clapping me on the shoulder with a good amount of force.  


“And don’t worry about those Nora snobs,” Erend chimed in. “Like you said earlier, you’re the Annointed, right?”  


Petra looked confused.  


“The what?”  


I shook my head, sighing deeply.  


“They think I’m practically some piece of their goddess, incarnate.”  


“Well, I mean…”  


The three of us fell silent as I stared back at Petra, her eyes flicking back and forth between Erend and I for several long moments before she downed the rust of her mug.  


“I think this Pale Ale stuff is getting to me.”  


Not long after, Petra told the barmaid to keep the beer charges on her tab and excused herself to go lay down for a little while. I watched her stagger up the stairs, making sure she didn’t immediately fall back down them, before turning back to Erend, who was beginning to count out his shards onto the counter.  


“You’re not going to ask to come, too?”  


He paused, looking up from his sorting with raised eyebrows.  


“Avad already offered anything you’d need. I figured that meant an envoy.”  


I laughed softly, but realized that he was still staring back at me, not mimicking my behavior.  


“I mean… y-you’re the captain, right?”  


“Yeah, but… you don’t just send your greenest guard members deep into foreign territory.”  


An involuntary shiver ran down my spine at how he referred to the Nora lands, and I quickly folded my arms over my chest, leaning into the bar to try to hide it.  


“Well, I suppose the Oseram aren’t as immediately scorned as the Carja.”  


He finally cracked a grin as I laughed. Erend finished counting his shards before sliding them across the bar and patting his hand on its wood surface.  


“So, when do we leave?”  


I chewed the inside of my cheek slowly as I stared vacantly at the bar between us for several long moments.  


“Part of me wants to say tomorrow, but now that it’s not just me, I think that might be a little too fast,” I paused, glancing up toward the ceiling above us for a moment, “especially for some people.”  


Erend chuckled softly, beginning to rise from his stool with a groan.  


“Don’t worry about her,” he said. “She just needs a quick nap and she’ll be fine.”  


“Really? She barely made it upstairs,” I shot back, smirking as I slid off my stool, as well.  


“I know my people, Aloy,” he laughed.  


We both made our way out of the Tavern and back onto the busy, early afternoon street outside. Almost immediately, the blinding heat of the sun from overhead made me grimace and I began to tug at the collar of my top, fanning it slightly.  


“What will you need to prepare before leaving?” Erend asked, beginning to lead the way back down the street to our left.  


“Well, munitions and supplies,” I began. “It’s not necessarily an easy journey and… well, let’s say I have only mild faith in the ability to come and go as I please from the mountain.”  


“You really think they’re going to react that badly?”  


“The last they saw of me, some of them thought I got one of the High Matriarchs killed,” I said quietly, eying the crowds of people as we passed, almost as if I expected them to already know and start trying to publically call me out in the middle of Meridian. “Then I left for Meridian, asking to take what few Braves remained. While some may still think of me as their Annointed… I think maybe I’m a little less so, now.”  


Erend nodded slowly, his eyes glazing over for a moment before he cleared his throat.  


“I’m sure people thought I was the reason Ersa was killed.”  


I blinked rapidly, turning my attention fully to him as I suddenly grabbed his arm, bringing both of us to a stop.  


“What do you mean?”  


“When she left for that mission where she was captured, I didn’t go because I was a bumbling idiot riding high on the fame of my sister,” he spat. “Then, when she didn’t come back, I perfectly bungled the job as her replacement for a long time. You even said so when you finally came back… I didn’t even try to take a search party or track down what had happened to her for—how long was, it a month?”  


My jaw clenched as I shook my head.  


“It wasn’t your fault.”  


“Maybe not entirely… but that doesn’t mean others didn’t see it that way.”  


I stared up at him in silence for several moments before I let out a heavy sigh.  


“And helping save Meridian and, by extension, the rest of the world, did nothing to change that?”  


He let out a snorting sound, glancing around at the crowds around us for a moment before turning back to me.  


“Did it for you?”  


After several long moments, he sighed, rubbing his eyes with one hand.  


“I’m sorry, I… it’s the drinks getting to me, too,” he said. “I should get back to rest a bit myself. I have to be back on patrol this evening.”  


I wanted to say something else, but the words caught in my throat and instead I simply nodded.  


“Well, let me know when you’re planning on leaving, and I’ll make sure everything’s ready.”  


“Sounds good.”  


With that, he strode off through the crowds, many people making way for the armored Vanguardsman as he brushed past them. Not long after he had set off, he rounded a bend in the street and disappeared from sight. With a heavy sigh, I rubbed at my temples and spun on my heel, walking the opposite direction and back past the Tavern.  


My feet carried me seemingly of their own accord until I suddenly realized they had stopped, just as the ground lurched and I started in a brief moment of panic, whirling around until I realized where I was. The other occupants of the elevator looked to me warily as I turned away from them, self-consciously brushing some rebel strands of my hair that broken free of the bun back behind one ear.  


When we reached the bottom, I hurried through the gates as soon as they had opened just wide enough for me to fit, disappearing into the crowd gathered to wait their turn to ascend. As I had in the city moments ago, I wandered aimlessly through the market of the lower village below Meridian until I found myself in one of the large fields just past the stream that surrounded it.  


Memories of this very place filled with the corpses of men and machines alike flashed before my eyes, and I quickly pushed them aside as I strolled through the tall grass, raising my hands to either side to run my fingers through the soft tops of the stalks.  


Two more days, then I’d be away from all of these people.  


For a bit.  


I wasn’t going to be alone, though.  


That would be…  


“Different?”  


I jumped at the sound of another voice, whirling in place until I finally spotted another figure standing several yards away, slowly walking through the grass as I was, playing with the tall stalks. As I focused on them, my jaw began to clench and my hands instinctually tightened around the grass nearby.  


“Been a long time since we’ve talked. Must’ve let your guard down a bit, finally?”  


I glared at the figure as they continued to circle around me.  


“I mean, or maybe you just didn’t even know who you had to guard from.”  


I began to turn around, but the figure appeared before me, blocking my path. If previous interactions were anything to go by, it wouldn’t be as easy as just walking through them.  


“Well, at least now you’re starting to get it.”  


“What do you want?”  


The image of Ted Faro smirked, picking the top off one of the stalks of grass and turning it over in his fingers. As he did, however, his image seemed to—flicker—and for the blink of an eye a different figure stood in his place… shorter, with longer hair…  


“You really think it’s such a good idea, leading all those people to the ELEUTHIA facility?”  


I blinked, brought back to my original dissociation from reality by Ted’s voice.  


“Why not?”  


“You think they’re actually going to be able to help you?”  


“People can learn,” I shrugged.  


“You’re going to teach them advanced computer science and robotics in a few weeks… or how long do you plan on actually being at the facility?”  


“They don’t necessarily need to build the AIs again. There are—other—issues that may arise,” I said, glancing across the field toward the mesa where the Spire stood, jutting into the sky. “Once it has power, I can reboot the main system, and install GAIA.”  


A hum sounded from the figure before me that almost sounded like a question, in itself.  


“Really now? Gonna shock the poor girl back to life and make her help you put her body back together?”  


“Better than trying to control HEPHAESTUS without her,” I snapped.  


“Interesting… how do you think the world is going to take two versions of the same terraforming system trying to operate simultaneously?”  


“With any luck, it won’t be two systems for long.”  


“Oh? You hoping GAIA asking them all politely to come back will work?”  


“I’ll make them.”  


The image of Ted paused, an unreadable expression crossing his features.  


“What do you mean?”  


“You heard me.”  


I stepped closer to the image, drawing inches from his face.  


“I’ll. Make. Them.”  


With that, I shoved the image aside and began to stalk back toward the village, only for his voice to call out one last time across the open ground.  


“Just like you made _her_?”  


I came to a sudden stop, closing my eyes tightly as my fists clenched at my sides.  


“You always get what _you_ want in the end, right?”  


Finally, I took a deep breath in through my nose before letting it out slowly and opening my eyes.  


“What other way is there?”  


With that, I resumed my brisk pace toward the village.  


That was one thing the noise of all the people provided, I guess.  


Respite from my own mind.

The breeze just before Sunrise was much chillier than I expected, and I found myself absentmindedly folding my arms over my chest and rubbing my exposed upper arms every so often, until I finally gave up and simply leaned forward against the balustrade, using the stance to help prop myself up on it. The sky was a dark red just above the horizon, but I could clearly trace where the light still hadn’t penetrated the deep black of the night sky. My eyes fell somewhere between, where it faded to an odd, almost purple color, and I found myself inhaling deeply with the next gust of wind. So high above the desert and farmlands, it didn’t carry the scent of the plants or the animals, but the odd, nebulous scent that always seemed to be present when summer began to fade into autumn.  


Guess that would explain where the chill was coming from, after all.  


Just then, the sound of footsteps approaching prompted me to whirl around, causing the other figure to jump and hold their hands up defensively.  


“I didn’t mean to cause an alarm,” Vanasha said softly, smirking.  


I sighed, shaking my head.  


“I should have figured you’d be the one person who’d find me so early,” I muttered.  


“Mmm,” she hummed, “I was actually wondering if it was early for you, or just incredibly late.”  


I let out a short laugh.  


“Been a while since I’ve had to pull one of those nights.”  


She shrugged, but remained where she was, leaning against the end of the stone banister to the steps that led up from the balcony where I had found myself.  


“So… couldn’t sleep?”  


I shook my head.  


“You… wanna talk about it?”  


I gave her a look and she smirked.  


“I mean, if I said no, would you really let it go?”  


“I mean… maybe.”  


I rolled my eyes as I turned back to the balustrade, leaning against it, once again, as I self-consciously tugged at my fur tunic. Probably should have grabbed one of the Banuk jackets… or that cloak…  


Vanasha leaned against the stone structure beside me, remaining silent for several long moments as I stared out at the sunrise, once again, but when I glanced over at her, I found she seemed to have been staring at me the entire time.  


“Looking for something?”  


“Hmm?”  


“I said—”  


“Oh, I heard you,” she interrupted, grinning. “I was just more curious why you had to ask.”  


A tense feeling appeared in my chest as I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up and I shifted my position against the stone railing slightly.  


“Oh?”  


“I’m always looking,” she said. “It’s just part of who I am, you know?”  


“I’ve noticed…”  


She gave me a slow smile as she propped her chin on her hand, but kept her gaze firmly locked on me.  


“So, do I get an invitation to the Nora lands, too?”  


I started slightly, raising my eyebrows.  


“W-what?”  


“Erend already mentioned it to Avad,” she explained. “He actually has to give a reason before leaving his duties at Meridian, you know?”  


“Well… yeah, I knew…”  


“So don’t act so surprised that I wouldn’t know.”  


“Always listening, too…”  


“Well I mean, yes, but I was actually just standing right there when he said it.”  


My cheeks burned as I turned away from her, once again, facing out at the quickly brightening sunrise.  


“I’m only teasing, little huntress,” Vanasha purred, laughing softly. “I am genuinely curious about your trip to this Nora mountain you mentioned, though.”  


I remained silent, still, picking at the stone of the railing before me as I tried to ignore the feeling of Vanasha’s eyes on me, and the implication lingering in the air.  


“It’s turning into quite the trip, it seems.”  


“I said it was important,” I finally shot back, still not looking at her. “Just want to make sure everything goes right.”  


“And yet you tried to take the Eclipse on and destroyed their ‘Buried Shadow’ almost entirely by yourself,” she pointed out. “So why now the change of heart?”  


I paused in my quest to somehow remove a chunk of the railing with my bare fingers for a moment, staring at the vague, brown mass of the lands below Meridian for several long moments before sighing and pushing away from the balustrade.  


“You know, I’m suddenly feeling tired, again.”  


As I went to move past Vanasha, she blocked my path, gripping my left arm tightly.  


“Aloy, despite your clear feelings on the matter, I am not working against you,” she said quietly but insistently. “People like Marad and I don’t trust everyone’s intentions or motivations, but that’s what comes with this line of work, but while his concerns and worries lie in protecting the Carja and, more importantly, the throne and legacy of its people, mine lie more with actual people… ideally those outside the Carja sundom as well as those within.  


“I’ve seen enough madmen come and go, bent on death and destruction, to not become suspicious when any one person begins speaking about affecting the world as a whole. You don’t strike me as mad, but… I barely know you.”  


She paused as I found myself unable to move in her grasp, the icy feeling in my veins seemingly freezing my muscles in place. The only part of me that seemed capable of moving was my heart, and it was pounding at an impossibly high rate against my sternum.  


“I don't wish to stop you, if what you’re saying is true,” she continued, “but please understand why I have my concerns.”  


I continued to stare at her blankly with widened eyes for several moments before she finally sighed and shook my arm slightly.  


“Do you?”  


I found myself nodding dumbly and she laughed, but released her grip on my arm.  


“So… were you joking about going to the Nora lands?”  


The words tumbled out of my mouth before I had a chance to think them through, and I found myself frozen in place, yet again, as I stared back at Vanasha, who only looked even more amused than normal.  


“As much as a trip to an ancient ruin with you sounds fun,” she laughed, “I have duties elsewhere. Besides, what would the Nora think if you brought someone like me?”  


Before I could say anything else, she gave me a wink and turned to walk away.  


“If you need anything before you leave, however, feel free to let me know,” she called over her shoulder. “I’m sure we’ll see each other once more before then, though.”  


My mouth opened to respond, but no words came before she rounded the end of the staircase nearby and ascended out of sight. Once she was gone, I finally seemed to regain control of myself and I violently rubbed at my eyes until I saw bright shapes begin to flash before me. With a heavy sigh, I let my arms fall by my sides, again, and began to trudge toward the same staircase.  


The trip back through Meridian was slightly busier than it had been out of my apartment earlier, as the merchants had finally woken up and begun to set up their stalls for the day. I wandered aimlessly for a while before suddenly finding myself at the foot of a set of stone stairs. A quick glance up at the large, imposing building at the top of them immediately told me where I had ended up, completely by accident.  


“Some part of me says this can’t be an accident,” I muttered.  


As soon as I did, I felt a twinge in my right hand and I glanced down, noticing how it shook beside me. I clenched my hand into a tight fist for a moment or two before sighing and trudging up the steps.  


As I approached the large front doorway, I began to wonder if it would even be open at this hour, but a moment later one of the doors opened and two figures exited, each of them dressed in gaudy Carja armor and loaded with bows, slings, and other such weapons and tools. They gave me an odd look as they passed, but I quickly ignored them and stepped forward, pushing the door open, myself.  


As I stepped through the large front doorway, I was immediately overwhelmed by the onslaught of voices, music, and general noise, all of which seemingly so out of place for this time of day. The looming Thunderjaw in the center of the room didn’t help ease the feeling, either. As I stared up at its still, apparently lifeless form, the sound of a throat clearing from my left drew my attention and I looked down to find an older man dressed in a set of Carja silks, albeit adorned with metal components that looked much more like armor than decorative pieces.  


“Welcome, stranger,” he said. “I don’t believe I’ve seen you in the Hunter’s Lodge, before.”  


“No, I don’t think I’ve been,” I said, stepping over to him.  


“Do you seek to join, or merely visit?”  


“What would I have to do to join?”  


“Well, first and foremost you would need a sponsor, a Hawk.”  


“And where would I find one of those?”  


“Oh, I might know one.”  


I turned at the sound of the intruding voice to find Talanah stepping off the bottom of a large staircase that ran around the Thunderjaw statue, a smirk on her features. She was looking much more put together than she had when I had last seen her at my apartment, now having had a chance to wash up and change clothing. She was dressed in her much more typical set of teal, gold, and white Carja Silks, complete with a somewhat ornate metal headdress and colorful, armored chest piece.  


“Ah, I see you know Talanah?” the older man asked, glancing back at me.  


“That I do.”  


Talanah came to a stop beside us, placing her hands on her hips as she turned to the man.  


“Aloy was the reason for my recent—departure,” she said.  


“Ah. You spoke highly of her before then.”  


Talanah let out a sound somewhere between coughing and clearing her throat, cutting the older man off before he could say anything else.  


“Uh—yes, I suppose I might have,” she muttered. “I can show her around from here, thanks.”  


He gave her an amused look before nodding and turning back to me.  


“Enjoy your time here at the Hunter’s Lodge,” he said, nodding.  


“Thanks,” I replied, turning back to Talanah as she nodded back toward the stairs.  


I followed her signal and fell in step beside her as she led me back toward them. We ascended as I continued to glance around the space, taking in the other machine trophies displayed about the large, open room. It certainly gave off the impression of some kind of noble society lair. Once at the top, Talanah made for the doors to a large, stone balcony that lay directly ahead of us. Two men in ornate armor stood on the left side, holding brass mugs with some kind of steaming liquid in them and laughing loudly, so Talanah moved toward the opposite side before coming to a stop against the stone banister that ran around the outside edge.  


“So, you’ve spoken—”  


“Yeah, okay, let’s… let’s not go there,” she said quickly, pinching the bridge of her nose as she squeezed her eyes shut tightly.  


I watched her with an amused expression as she sighed deeply and folded her arms over her chest.  


“So anyway, welcome to the Hunter’s Lodge.”  


I laughed, nodding as I looked around.  


“It’s…”  


“Pretentious?”  


I looked back at her, raising my eyebrows.  


“It is, I know.”  


I wanted to say something else, but by the way her eyes had glazed over and she stared vacantly at the open doorways behind us, I had a feeling there was more to her answer.  


“It didn’t used to be quite so much, though.”  


“Oh?”  


She nodded slowly.  


“When my… when my father was Sunhawk, it…”  


She sighed, shaking her head, her eyes returning to focus as she turned her gaze back to me.  


“It felt like it had a purpose, and stood for something. Yes, it was a sign of nobles who wanted to show off, but… you had to prove you were actually worth something.”  


“And now?”  


“If you’re friends with Ahsis, you’re set.”  


“Ahsis?”  


“The current Sunhawk,” she spat. “An arrogant, ungrateful, disrespectful bastard.”  


I recoiled slightly at the venom in her tone.  


“Don’t hold back, now…”  


“I’m sorry, it’s just… he…”  


She growled in frustration, hanging her head for a moment before looking back up at me.  


“It would give me so much joy to see his face if someone like you tried to enter the Lodge.”  


A strange feeling ran down my spine as I found myself folding my arms in return, leaning my weight to one leg as I stared back at her.  


“Someone like me?”  


“An outsider. Not Carja noble blood.”  


I continued to give her a look and she sighed.  


“I didn’t mean it in a bad way, Aloy.”  


“Maybe, but when you’ve heard that phrase, or something like it, as much as I have…”  


“I’m sorry, then,” she said.  


I stared back at her for several long moments before she sighed.  


“I just followed you into a bunker underneath the Shadow Carja’s capital and helped you get back out of it,” she continued, “and… well, everything you told me yesterday morning…”  


My lips pulled into a thin line and she rubbed the back of her neck nervously.  


“Okay, well… I apologize. I don’t know how else to say it, but… I mean it.”  


With that, she turned to face the railing, leaning forward against it and removing her headdress to run her hand over her hair for a moment before moving to replace it, only to pause at the last second and continue to hold it in her hands. I slowly stepped forward, taking a spot leaning against the railing beside her.  


“Accepted.”  


She glanced over at me for a moment before my face finally cracked into a smile and she returned it with one of her own.  


“You are definitely the most interesting person I’ve ever met…”  


“That can go both ways, you know…”  


“Yeah, well, this is the good way,” she said.  


We both laughed as she took a deep breath, slipping her headdress back on before turning to face me, adjusting her position against the railing to keep herself from falling over.  


“So, I didn’t expect you to come find me here so early,” she said.  


“No, and… I wasn’t intending to come here, either,” I sighed.  


“Oh? Trying to avoid me?”  


I laughed, shaking my head.  


“No, but I was just wandering around and… ended up here.”  


“Well, I suppose Meridian is only so big…”  


“True.”  


We fell into silence for several moments before I let out a heavy sigh, turning toward Talanah and mimicking her posture.  


“I should probably tell you,” I began, “I’m planning to leave for the Nora lands soon.”  


“Oh?” she raised her eyebrows. “Why? And when?”  


“In the next day or two,” I replied, “but… well… it has to do with… what we found.”  


“How so?”  


“I… want to use the… the drives,” I said quietly, glancing around, “to rebuild Zero Dawn.”  


She continued to stare back at me for several long moments in silence before nodding slowly.  


“So why not go to where it was originally, that GAIA Prime, I think?”  


“It was there, yeah,” I said, “but, well, as I also said, it kind of… blew up.”  


Her lips pulled into a thin line as she nodded.  


“Right…”  


“So, not really the most useable,” I sighed.  


“What could be in the Nora lands, instead?”  


“The facility… where I was born.”  


Her expression suddenly grew much more interested as she straightened up.  


“What about it?”  


“It… it was mostly intact, when I saw it,” I explained. “I think… if I can find a way to retrofit it to work…”  


“You can bring GAIA back,” she said softly.  


I nodded, my pulse quickening at the thought, alone.  


“And… APOLLO?”  


“It’s part of her system, so…”  


Talanah began to nod, her lips pulling into more and more of a grin with each passing moment.  


“And, so… uh…”  


“You really want to see what it has to offer?”  


“Of course!”  


I recoiled at her sudden outburst of enthusiasm, and she quickly glanced around the balcony, but the only other people, the two men from earlier, were still deep in whatever incredibly amusing story they were telling.  


“Like I said,” she continued, much more quietly, “you can’t just show me that little tease and not expect me to want to know more.”  


“I know, I know,” I said, laughing. “I just… I’m not used to someone else wanting to know so much. Most people are—”  


“Idiots?”  


We both laughed as I shook my head.  


“I mean…”  


“I’m not wrong, but…” she trailed off.  


“But I was going to say, most people are not so excited and willing to find out about all this stuff. Quite often, they’re afraid.”  


“Because not everyone is so open to the idea that there’s more out there,” she said. “Me… well… when my own world is so…”  


She glanced back into the lodge for a moment before sighing.  


“Lacking…”  


I frowned slightly as I watched how her face fell, but as she turned back to me, the expression was gone, replaced with a smirk.  


“You look tired,” she said suddenly.  


I blinked in response.  


“What?”  


“Exactly,” she laughed. “If you’re here this early, did you sleep?”  


I shrugged.  


“Some.”  


“I know two things that might wake you up.”  


I raised my eyebrows at her as she gestured for me to follow.  


“Come on, maybe we can both cheer ourselves up, too.”  


Whatever idea I had in mind from her first statement was only made more confused by the second, but I followed after her, anyway.  


To my shock and delight, one of her two ideas was a brass mug of steaming liquid that I eagerly took and attempted to take a sip from, but quickly recoiled at both the temperature and the taste. It was scalding, but also one of the bitterest drinks I had ever had. My reaction only drew amusement from her, but I quickly shrugged it off and blew on the rudimentary coffee until it was a tolerable temperature, at which point I ended up downing the rest of it within only a minute or two, drawing a shocked expression from Talanah.  


“By the Sun, you’d think you’d had this every day your whole life…”  


I only offered a noncommittal shrug in response, handing over my empty mug as Talanah finished hers and placed both of ours back on the counter where she got them.  


Her second idea, however, I should have seen coming. Within minutes, we stepped off the elevator into the village below the mesa, bows slung over our shoulders and fully loaded quivers on our hips. Talanah scoffed at the idea of visiting a hunting ground, however, and instead led the way to an area that was a common ground for certain types of machines, specifically Bellowbacks.  


Her original idea had been to limit the amount of weapons and ammunition we brought with us, and this quickly turned into much more of a challenge than either of us had expected. I lost track of how many times I had to distract a raging machine from goring Talanah when it had cornered her or nearly knocked her off her feet, and how many times she had done the same for me. When we finally managed to subdue the machines in the small clearing, we both stood in the center of the open ground, scanning about the space with bows drawn, just in case.  


Finally, I let out a heavy sigh and lowered my bow, rolling my shoulders against the tension that had settled into them from the exertion. I turned back to Talanah to find her grinning as she lowered her bow and counted the arrows still left in her quiver.  


“Still got seven, you?”  


I glanced down at mine.  


“Three.”  


“Guess that means I’m a better shot.”  


“Or I got more of them than you.”  


She made a “pssh” sound as she shoved my shoulder and I grinned.  


“Feel better, though?”  


“Who said I wasn’t feeling fine before?”  


“Your face said it all.”  


I braced my hands on my hips as I turned to face her fully, raising my eyebrows.  


“Oh?”  


“Trust me, I can tell these things.”  


“That your superpower?”  


“My what?”  


“Never mind,” I sighed, slipping my bow over my shoulders. “Shall we grab what we can and head back?”  


As I decided on my final piece to bring back to Meridian, I returned to the center of the clearing, where Talanah stood with hers. She glanced up from her haul as I approached, shifting the parts in her hands as she tried to shake a rebel strand of hair out of her face.  


“Ready?”  


I nodded.  


“All right, one thing, though.”  


I raised my eyebrows slightly as she took a deep breath in through her nose.  


“I’m coming with you to the Nora lands, right?”  


I paused for a moment, staring back at her. Her jaw was squared tensely as she met my gaze, all hints of her playful behavior from before gone.  


It didn’t matter what I had thought before, she was only going to accept one answer.  


“Of course.”  


It was a good thing it was what I was already planning.  


A smile split her features as she nodded.  


“Good.”  


With a smile in return, I nodded back toward the path we had taken to the machine grounds.  


“I’m starving. Let’s get going.”  


She nodded in agreement as we began to make our way to the dusty trail. Once we started our trek along it, she cleared her throat, drawing my attention back over to her.  


“You know, I almost expected you to put up more of a fight.”  


“Oh? Disappointed?”  


“If I said yes, would that be weird?”  


We both laughed as I shoved her with my shoulder playfully.  


“Always looking to pick a fight, huh?”  


“What can I say? It’s who I am.”  


“Just be careful who you pick one with…”  


“Oh? Should I worry about the big, scary Aloy?”  


I sighed, rolling my eyes.  


“No… it’s not me you have to worry about, though…”  


Talanah gave me a strange look as my lips pulled into a thin line.  


“You know, the more you say,” she began, “the less I feel like I know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ominous foreshadowing abounds...
> 
> Tune in next week for the road trip episode. Just kidding. Kind of.


	10. On the Road Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy monday y'all.
> 
> It's the mandatory road trip episode. Kind of. I promise it will stop feeling like filler next chapter, just gotta ominously foreshadow things a bit, first.
> 
> Completely unrelated note, the weekend felt like it was 2 seconds long, but I managed to somehow watch all of that new show Undone on Amazon and it's super dope, so y'all should watch it, if you can. Also, Dark (on Netflix), because both are trippy mind-fucks about time travel and I can't get enough of that.
> 
> Anyway, back to the story. Come along, won't you?

“So, you are loaded with what you need?”  


I turned from the Strider strapped with several large bags to find Marad eying it warily. A smirk tugged at my lips at his response to the perfectly docile machine.  


“I hope so.”  


“You seem to be—well-armed—for a trip to supposedly docile lands.”  


“Well, maybe it’s not the Embrace I’m worried about,” I shot back. “There’s a lot of ground between here and there.”  


He nodded slowly, pursing his lips slightly.  


“Well, I bid you not run into too many troubles along the way, then.”  


“So you bid that I run into some?”  


“As you said,” he began, smirking, “it can be a dangerous world between here and the Embrace.”  


As soon as he had turned away to bother someone else in the travelling party, a shiver ran down my spine and I vigorously rubbed at my upper arms.  


“Goddammit…”  


After Marad had made his rounds with everyone, he stood facing all of us, the two Carja guards who had accompanied him standing several feet away with rather bored expressions on their faces.  


“Well, I bid you all well,” he said loudly enough for all to hear him, “and a safe return to Meridian. I hope that the next we see of each other, we will have much to learn.”  


Just as he turned to leave, a ripple of murmurs began to spread about the merchant camp around us. I glanced back at the Striders to see if one of them had begun to act up, but all seemed well with our small herd. With a frown, I turned back toward Marad to find him also turned toward the bridge into Meridian. As my gaze followed his, my eyes widened slightly.  


Avad strode across the open ground of the camp toward us, flanked by no fewer than ten Carja guards, as well as what appeared to be a few Vanguard, as well. Despite his impressive entourage, he seemed to pay them no mind, his eyes instead locking on mine as he approached. The hair began to stand up on the back of my neck, but the feeling quickly tempered as his features cracked into a smile.  


“Trying to leave without a goodbye, Aloy?”  


I laughed nervously, shifting my feet on the dusty ground as I played with the fabric of my skirt and tunic.  


“It is customary before a great campaign, or a great journey, for the Sun King to offer his blessing to the departing party,” he continued, coming to a stop between Marad and myself, raising his eyebrows slightly. “Will you accept mine?”  


I tried to offer a response, but my tongue seemed incapable of functioning under the pressure of every eye in the merchant camp firmly fixed on me, so instead I offered a fast, awkward nod.  


“May you walk in the path of the sun’s light, and find safety and comfort in its rays until it can lead you home… or at the very least, to Meridian,” he said, glancing around at the entire party before his gaze focused on me with his last words. “I wish you well in your travels, and hope that you find the knowledge that you seek.”  


I nodded in response, once again, trying to think of anything to say that wouldn’t make me sound like a socially anxious child.  


“Th-thanks…”  


Well, short and sweet, I guess.  


He nodded in response, grinning.  


“With such good company, however, I feel I should hardly have to worry,” he continued, turning to the other three. “I trust you will make sure my Captain of the Vanguard returns in one piece?”  


Erend let out a short, dry laugh as I glanced back to find Petra grinning and shaking her head, as well.  


“We’ll look after ‘im,” she chimed in.  


“Excuse me!”  


“Yeah, nothing to worry about,” Talanah added, smirking.  


Erend glanced between the two women for a moment before turning to me, but I simply shrugged, grinning.  


“I’m rethinking this trip, already…”  


Petra offered him a playful punch to the shoulder, which he returned before they both began to laugh.  


“Forgive me for asking,” Avad said, bringing my attention back to him, “but you do seem rather well armed for a mission of discovery.”  


“It’s only been two months,” I sighed, apparently finding my ability to speak, once again, now that the conversation felt much more private. “We both know the world doesn’t just become safer overnight, like that.”  


Something dark crossed Avad’s eyes for a moment as his lips drew into a thin line and he nodded.  


“Very true, Aloy.”  


Silence fell over us for a moment before he sighed, the tense expression on his face fading, once again.  


“I do wish you well in your journey, though,” he said. “I look forward to hearing of what you gain from this trip… if you are willing to divulge such things.”  


I nodded slowly, staring back at him as I chewed the inside of my cheek slowly.  


“I just might…”  


He offered a small smile and for a moment I had a glimpse, once again, of Avad the man, not the king.  


“I would be very intrigued, if you would.”  


With that, the rest of the group bid their quick goodbyes to Avad before I led the group by clambering atop my Strider and settling into a comfortable position on its back. The others did so, as well, but with less elegance. Once we were all firmly seated and no one looked as if they were afraid the faintest breeze would blow them from their seats, I turned back to the gathered crowd of the Sun King, his guards, Marad, and the various merchants and common people who had gathered to see the strange troupe of machine-riders set off from Meridian. I gave a quick wave to the crowd before turning back to the trail ahead of us and sighing, grabbing the Strider’s cords before digging my heels into its sides.  


“Yah!”  


With that, we were off, moving along the well-trodden roads and paths as the morning sun rose ever higher overhead, quickly turning from the welcome warmth of its first rays burning away the darkness to the unrelenting, harshness of the midday heat. We had been travelling for several hours before I finally gestured for everyone to come to a stop at a small intersection beside a stream. Two worn, dirt paths converged at the entrance to a short, wooden footbridge; while there was little else nearby, it seemed as good of place as any to take a short break, especially for those still new to riding machines for long distances.  


“Take a few minutes to walk about, stretch your legs,” I said, glancing back at the others as I slid off my mount.  


Erend happily obliged, hopping from his Strider and walking stiff circles around the small intersection while Petra watched with amusement. As I twisted my torso back and forth, groaning softly as I did, Talanah appeared beside me, nudging my side with her elbow.  


“It started to hit you, yet?”  


“Has what?”  


“That you’re going back?”  


I shrugged.  


“Ask me when we deal with the Nora border guards.”  


She snorted, shaking her head as she took a swig from her waterskin.  


“You planning on pulling another return from Sunfall style trip?”  


“What do you mean?” I asked, opening my own waterskin and following suit.  


“Non-stop, get there as fast as possible.”  


I frowned slightly.  


“I mean, if it were me—yes—but I don’t want to— _injure_ —anyone.”  


I glanced toward Erend to see him finally looking somewhat back to normal as Petra continued to rib him for his stiff motions. Talanah let out another snorting laugh as I turned back to her grinning.  


“I mean, for what it’s worth,” she continued, sighing, “I’m excited.”  


“Well, I mean, you’ve been hounding me about all this stuff…”  


“Well, yeah, but also just to see the Nora lands.”  


I raised my eyebrows slightly at her as she smiled sheepishly.  


“I’ve heard they’re really beautiful…”  


I pretended to contemplate the idea for a moment before shrugging.  


“Yeah, I guess.”  


Talanah rolled her eyes before shoving me playfully.  


“Okay, Aloy of Everywhere, nothing fazes you, I get it.”  


I paused for a moment, thinking that over in my head as I noticed how Talanah had frozen.  


“Sorry, I—”  


“No, I… I like it,” I interrupted. “Certainly better than Aloy of Nowhere.”  


A slight frown tugged at Talanah’s lips as she sealed her waterskin and attached it to her belt, again.  


“I mean… I hope so,” she said slowly.  


I shrugged in what I hoped was a nonchalant way as I quickly took a drink from my own waterskin, turning back toward Petra and Erend.  


Despite what she had said, I couldn’t help the feeling that I was truly going home… but not to the Nora lands.  


I rallied the other two and we all mounted our Striders, once again, setting off along the path my Focus indicated was the fastest route to the Embrace, which evidently was the dirt path leading away from the footbridge over the stream. We didn’t stop for several more hours, until the sun was well on its way back down toward the horizon. In that time, we had crossed what felt like one of the hottest expanses of the Sundom’s desert and had finally ascended the narrow, winding paths up the side of a mountain to the gate at Daybreak.  


At the sight of four people approaching on the backs of Striders, the Carja guards stationed at the entrance looked to each other in disbelief, but none of them seemed to have a response. They simply stared, dumbfounded, as we passed them and entered the main road that ran through the fort, itself. When we finally brought our machines to a stop in an open area a good ways from the merchants and others milling about the fort, I noticed a familiar man in Carja armor approaching.  


“So, the machine rider returns,” the captain said and eyed my companions, as well, “and with friends.”  


“We’re passing through, once again,” I explained.  


“To where?”  


“Nora lands.”  


He simply nodded before suddenly noticing Erend as he walked from behind his Strider, groaning and stretching one arm across his chest.  


“Well, this is certainly an unexpected surprise, Captain,” the Daybreak captain remarked, smirking.  


Erend glanced over at the sound of his voice before laughing and making his way over to the man, where both of them clapped each other firmly on their shoulders.  


“I see they finally found a reason to drag your ass out of Meridian, huh?” the Daybreak captain teased. “Looks like you needed it, though.”  


“You’ve been deprived of air up here in the mountains,” Erend shot back. “You know us Oseram are built like Behemoths.”  


I rolled my eyes at them as I glanced over to Petra and Talanah.  


“Well, the point of stopping was to rest and maybe get some food, or any supplies if you realized you forgot something.”  


“I’m sure I can find something of use around here,” Petra replied, starting toward the marketplace ahead of us. “Meet back in an hour?”  


“Sounds good,” I called after her, but I had a feeling she had meant it as more of a statement than a question.  


With Erend and the other captain still locked in conversation and Petra headed toward the nearest Oseram delver’s stall, Talanah nodded toward the rest of the marketplace and I followed after her. We made our way amongst the various travelers and their carts, some of them clearly not looking to sell anything in Daybreak and just taking a break, while some seemed just as eager to make shards as anyone in Meridian.  


Nothing in particular caught my attention as necessary or interesting, so I simply followed Talanah, who also seemed not particularly enthused by anything on offer. Finally, we broke free of the carts and stalls and came to what appeared to be some kind of balcony that overlooked the trail we had just ascended and the lower lands of the desert beyond it. Talanah stopped at the railing and leaned against it, folding her arms before her to brace herself in place.  


“This the farthest you’ve gone?” I asked, mimicking her posture beside her.  


“In general, or in this direction?”  


I shrugged.  


“Either.”  


“Definitely this direction,” she replied, nodding. “I visited the Claim once, with my father and brothers, when I was younger.”  


As she stared out at the vista before us, she sighed, her shoulders sagging for a moment as she reached up to rub her eyes tiredly with one hand. We remained silent as we stared out at the darkening scenery before us for several long moments before I felt Talanah shift beside me and I glanced over just as she cleared her throat.  


“So… can I… can we… talk… more about what you told me the other morning?”  


I sighed.  


Of course, now that there was a moment without the others…  


“What about, exactly? I told you pretty much everything.”  


“You threw a lot of things at me, but you gave me more questions, too,” she shot back.  


“Like?”  


Her face lit up slightly as she cleared her throat again.  


“You… you said that you… _experienced_ the ancient world…”  


A tight feeling appeared in my chest as I swallowed nervously.  


I had a feeling I already knew where this was going.  


“What… what was it like?”  


After several long moments where I tried to force myself to form actual words, I took a deep breath, staring down at the expanse of red sand before us.  


“It… I… didn’t get to see much of it.”  


I could sense Talanah’s disappointment without even looking at her, so I began to explain.  


“I… what I saw was the… the end,” I managed. “They had… there was… incredible technology and innovations beyond what anyone now could imagine, but… all of this—”  


I gestured to the world around us, the mountains, the blue sky, the clouds, the birds…  


“—all of the nature and the natural world… it was just… dust.”  


I finally glanced over at Talanah to find that her face had paled, her previous excitement long gone.  


“Everything was dead or dying. The sky was just… brown. You couldn’t breathe outside without special tools.”  


“That’s… it’s like… what that man said… in the journal.”  


I nodded.  


“I… I saw it… firsthand.”  


Talanah shivered, and I felt my heart rate increase. I knew it wasn’t going to be a fun conversation, but now that I was actually speaking aloud, it was seeming worse by the second.  


“That… maybe… maybe I shouldn’t have asked,” she said quietly.  


“I’m sorry, I—”  


“No, I… it’s not your fault,” she sighed, looking up at me. “I guess there’s a reason nothing they built is really still here anymore, right?”  


My lips pulled into a thin line as I nodded.  


“Right.”  


With a sigh, she shook her head and turned so she was facing me, leaning against the railing with her side and her elbow.  


“So… different question,” she sighed. “This Elisabet Sobeck you and the journal mentioned… who was she, exactly?”  


My palms became slick as I self-consciously rubbed them against my skirt, trying my best to hide the reaction from Talanah, but there was no way she had missed it.  


“Well, s-she was a… a scientist.”  


All I received was a confused stare from her.  


“She studied how things worked and how they were made,” I explained quickly, “and built new inventions, herself.”  


“So… like a tinkerer?”  


“Kind of,” I shrugged. “She didn’t physically put a lot of her inventions together, herself, but came up with the ideas and the instructions, as well as wrote the code that controlled them.”  


“She did what that controlled them?”  


I sighed.  


“Wrote the code, it—uh—means she basically told the machines how to act, how to think, all of that.”  


“So… she… that…”  


Talanah shook her head as I swallowed nervously.  


“Everything these people did seems so insane, so… impossible, now.”  


“But that’s where GAIA and the subfunctions like APOLLO come in,” I shot back. “There’s always the hope—the chance—that people could do those things, again.”  


“But—forgive me for asking—what would we do with all of that, exactly?”  


That was exactly the thought I had been afraid of.  


The one that could derail all of this.  


“So many things,” I said quickly. “It’s not just… building huge cities of metal and machines that go out of control. There could be new ways of farming, of cultivating wildlife for food while preserving those in nature. They had abilities with medicine and healing far beyond anything we have now.”  


Talanah nodded slowly as I noted how she subconsciously shifted her wait on her left leg, rubbing at it for a moment before quickly folding her arms over her chest, holding her hands still in the process. As I waited for her response, my heart beat began pounding in my ears.  


“Those… all sound like good things,” she finally said, laughing as she put on a grin, but it felt somewhat forced.  


I breathed a sigh of relief as I nodded, running one hand through my hair and finding that somehow almost none of it had come loose from the intricate, tight bun I had tied it into before leaving Meridian.  


“Yeah, you could say that.”  


After a few more moments of silence, I sighed, glancing over my shoulder toward the merchants behind us.  


“We should probably get some food before heading back to the others.”  


As I glanced back at Talanah, I found her chewing the inside of her cheek slowly, but she finally nodded and pushed away from the railing. We ended up buying some kind of dried and cured animal meat that had been seasoned and flavored to the point where it almost made me sneeze from the smell, alone, but tasted amazing, in the end. As we finished the last of our food and returned to the Striders, we found that Petra and Erend were already waiting, each of them grinning broadly as Petra idly played with something metallic in her hands.  


“I expected to have to wait for you two,” I called out as we approached, “not the other way around.”  


“There was barely anything good from the lot, here,” Petra replied, turning her attention to Talanah and me.  


“I see you found something, though.”  


“I can always find at least something,” she laughed, holding up her purchase for me to see.  


It appeared to be some kind of metal circle with an almost translucent piece of red glass in the center.  


“What… what is it?”  


“This is a Scorcher lens,” she said. “It’s so rare to find one of these intact, since they put up so much of a fight that to take them down, you’ve got to break just about everything on ‘em.”  


“What’s a Scorcher?” Talanah asked, tilting her head slightly as she stared at the item in Petra’s palm.  


“A machine from the Cut,” she explained. “Burgrend told me about them, first—and about how they’re some right bastards to kill.”  


“Sounds like a challenge,” Talanah replied, a spark glinting in her eyes.  


“Sounds like it,” Petra agreed, “but, no offense, I don’t know if your Carja blood could take the cold of the Cut.”  


“Oh, really now?” Talanah shot back, coming to a stop as she folded her arms over her chest.  


“I said no offense, right?”  


“That’s not how it works.”  


Petra smirked devilishly, but I intervened before we lost any more time in Daybreak.  


“Okay, if we’re going to have an argument, let’s do it while we’re on the move, yeah?”  


The two woman stared each other down for a moment before I physically stepped between them.  


“Okay?” I said more insistently, glancing between each of them.  


“Okay, flame ‘air,” Petra finally sighed as I turned back to her. “Just for you.”  


My mouth hung open as I tried to think of a response, but my words seemed to fail me as she laughed, but offered a wink before turning to climb onto her Strider. Finally, I forced my mouth closed as I spun on my heel and marched toward my Strider, hauling myself atop it, as well.  


Once we were all in place, I waved for them to follow me as I urged the Strider on toward the main gate. When we approached, we found it closed and I brought my machine to a stop, frowning slightly. This was a new development.  


Just then, the sound of shouting came from the top of the wall and I looked up toward it, squinting against the setting sun. I could see a figure waving down to me and I wasn’t sure what to do, so I waved back.  


A moment later, a loud groan echoed from ahead of us and I looked down toward the large, wooden doors to find they had begun to swing open.  


“Can’t be too careful, now.”  


I glanced over to find Erend beside me, his lips pulled into a thin line.  


“This is due to the Eclipse attack?” I asked.  


“Security across the Sundom has had to tighten since then,” he replied, nodding.  


“Even all the way out here?”  


“Well, most Nora don’t come wandering in from this direction, do they?”  


I gave him a look for a moment before slowly shaking my head.  


“I guess not.”  


Once the gate was finally open enough for us to fit through in a single-file line, we exited Daybreak. Almost as soon as the last member of our party had cleared the entryway, however, the groaning returned and I glanced over my shoulder to see the gate closing, once again.  


I had some reservations about the Nora lands before, but now I felt they were for an entirely different reason.  


Despite them, I led our group onward up the path ahead of us and over the small, rocky ridge. As soon as we crossed it, we found ourselves in a very different place than the desert we had just left. The endless reds and browns were replaced with the greens of grass and trees, as well as the splashes of color from the wild flowers growing alongside the small stream ahead. As I glanced back at our group, I found that Erend and Petra were looking at the scenery with a seeming sense of familiarity, while Talanah looked like an eager child, taking in everything with eyes slightly widened.  


“We aren’t totally in Nora lands, yet,” I called back to her.  


She started in surprise, turning her gaze to me with a questioning expression on her face.  


“Just you wait.”  


With that, we set off at a good canter down the trail, easily reaching the grasslands at the foot of the mountain in less than an hour. As soon as we turned onto the main trail that led farther toward the Embrace, the sun sank below the mountains in the distance and with it, the last defense against the cold wind that blew down from the trail behind us. As I glanced back at the others, I noted how Talanah’s shoulders shook with the shiver that she was clearly trying to hide, and a smirk pulled at my lips.  


“Maybe we should set up camp for the night?” I called back to the others, slowing my Strider to a leisurely walk.  


“Might not be a bad idea,” Erend admitted. “Will help to have a bit of light, at least.”  


“Yeah, not a b-bad idea,” Talanah chimed in and quickly clamped her jaw shut at the tremble in her voice.  


Petra gave her a victorious smirk but turned away at Talanah’s death glare in return. We pressed on a little farther before finding a small copse of trees at a bend in the path, where one of the largest ones stood at the edge and offered a good amount of overhang from its lower branches. We pulled our Striders into the trees and unloaded our bedrolls before letting them graze about the nearby open ground.  


Talanah quickly volunteered to help me look for firewood as Erend and Petra began to unpack their bedrolls and clear a space for the fire, itself. As we moved farther into the trees, looking for fallen branches and perhaps some small, dead bushes to use for kindling, I noticed how Talanah kept rubbing her arms every few seconds.  


“The Embrace isn’t all that warm, I know,” I said.  


“What?”  


I grinned, gesturing to her arm as she absentmindedly rubbed at it with her free hand.  


“I can give you a jacket.”  


“I’m f-f-fine,” she stuttered, but quickly glanced away, tensing her shoulders slightly as she did.  


“It’s okay, really,” I laughed. “It’s a new place.”  


“I guess I just forgot how quickly it’d change once we reached Daybreak,” she shrugged.  


“Here, let’s gather some more so we can start a fire and then I’ll give you my jacket, too.”  


She muttered something that sounded like “thanks” before setting about finding the last few dead branches we could. Once we returned to the others, I managed to get what fire I could going within a few minutes. It wasn’t massive, by any means, but that was probably for the best. We didn’t need to stay awake for hours by it, or cook any massive meal, so hopefully we could let it burn down relatively quickly.  


Unpacking my bedroll, I found my jacket of Banuk furs wrapped in the center and brought it over to Talanah, who glanced at Petra before taking it and quickly throwing it on. With a smirk, I returned to my bedroll and grabbed the small bag beside the head of it. The small amount of bread inside was thankfully not hard as a rock, so I tore off pieces and ate it with the heavy, strongly-flavored cheese that Talanah offered me pieces of. A grin came to my face as I ate, staring vacantly around the fire at my companions, hazy memories of similar situations long ago floating through my mind. For a moment, the faces of the other three were swapped for some that felt so familiar, but the names associated with them couldn’t seem to find their way to my tongue.  


“So, how do you want to do tomorrow?”  


The question shook me out of my reverie as I shook my head quickly, blinking rapidly until the figures returned to normal.  


“What?”  


“Tomorrow, we’ll presumably get to the edge of the Embrace,” Petra asked, smirking. “How do you want to do it, getting into Nora lands and then the mountain, itself?”  


I sighed, staring into the fire for a moment before turning back to her.  


“That’s a good question,” I said. “Getting into the Embrace may not be too difficult. I can hopefully leverage some kind of status I have with the Nora to at least allow myself and any companions into the lands as a whole, but the mountain… well, that’s another story.”  


“You mean they may have a problem with letting three outsiders into one of their most sacred places?” Erend teased. “I couldn’t even begin to wonder why.”  


We all laughed, but it felt half-hearted.  


I had put a lot of thought into this very question, myself, but had only managed to come up with one solution if we faced any opposition beyond “I’m the Annointed, let me do what I want.”  


It was an all or nothing solution, but then again, it wasn’t like we were going to meet halfway, anyway.  


As I expected, the fire died down relatively quickly and we all turned in for the night. Without the jacket I had loaned to Talanah, I resorted to curling up as tightly as I could beneath the fur blanket of my bedroll, but it wasn’t quite enough to fully cover above my neck and still rest my head on the pillowed portion, so I simply hoped for the best and tried to force myself to fall asleep before I had time to register how cold it may or may not be.  


Thankfully, I felt myself drift off into unconsciousness relatively quickly and I found my body relaxing along with it. A moment later, I smelled what seemed to be smoke and my eyes began to flutter open. Just before they fully could, a strong wave of smoke suddenly washed over me, filtering into my lungs and prompting me to immediately begin coughing as my eyes shot open. I tried to look around for the source of the smoke, but quickly realized that it filled my entire field of view.  


I tried to raise my hands to fan it away, or at least cover my mouth and nose, but something suddenly tugged on my wrist and held my arm firmly in place. Panic began to set in as I pulled harder, but to no avail; whatever restraints were tied around me dug farther into my flesh, but showed no signs of yielding. I soon found that my ankles were similarly bound, and combined with the sense of suffocating on the smoke, my panic reached even higher levels than before.  


Moments after realizing that I couldn’t breathe properly, and couldn’t maneuver myself to do anything about it, I felt a growing heat from beneath me and immediately froze. A moment later, I looked down, trying to see through the billowing cloud of smoke, and while I largely couldn’t make out any details, I was able to see the faint orange glow from beneath me.  


That had to mean… oh no…  


Suddenly, a voice calling out from before me drew my attention and I looked up through the smoke to find that it seemed to have cleared, somehow, revealing a gathered crowd staring up at me. First and foremost, at the head of them all, was the Lansra, the High Matriarch, a look of fury upon her face.  


“We do not condone death, in the Nora,” she called over the sound of the fire swelling beneath me, “but this demon must be cleansed from our lands!”  


The crowd roared their agreement as I desperately searched for a familiar face, but my eyes were beginning to water from the smoke too greatly to clearly make out anyone else.  


“May this sacrifice appease the Goddess, and bring mercy upon our people!”  


I struggled more intensely against the ropes that bound me to what seemed to be a pole, but the restraints were too thick, and held fast despite my best efforts. A moment later, a sharp, burning sensation appeared in my right foot and I let out a cry of pain. Looking down revealed that the material of my boot had caught fire and it was slowly spreading. As it reached my leggings, an even stronger, involuntary scream burst from me, only for it to quickly turn into a coughing fit as more smoke filled my lungs.  


I couldn’t call out to anyone, even if I wanted, the thick, black clouds around me seemingly seizing the opportunity to pour into my throat as my head tilted back against the pole behind me. The flames began to race up my legs ever faster as I tried anything to twist myself free, but if anything, the bonds grew tighter. Just as the fire reached my waist, it seemed to increase in speed, racing up my torso until it reached my throat. I let out one final scream of pain as my vision filled with orange and red and I viciously thrashed against my restraints, desperately seeking to somehow remove the feeling covering my entire body.  


In addition to the roaring fire filling my ears, a single word began to ring over and over, somehow cutting through the cacophony.  


“Demon! Demon! Demon!”  


Just then, something pressed tightly against my chest and I let out another scream, trying to push against it, but it only held stronger, moving to my shoulders and holding me in place. I continued to struggle for a moment or two until I realized that the word repeated over and over had changed, and it no longer sounded like a crowd of people, but a single voice.  


“Aloy! Aloy! Aloy!”  


I blinked rapidly until I realized that the darkness before me was not due to a cloud of smoke; it was the night sky. Against the darkness, however, a single figure began to materialize, until I could finally make out the expression somewhere between concern and panic on her face.  


“Aloy! Wake up!”  


I finally stopped struggling and lay still as my breath came in rapid, heaving pants. The pressure on my shoulders remained, however I also noted one across my waist, as well, firmly holding me down.  


“There, just… easy… it was a dream… it was a dream…”  


As my eyesight continued to adjust, I finally made out the features of the figure and immediately felt a stab of guilt and fear as Talanah’s visage registered in my mind. The expression on her face was one I never wanted to see aimed at me, and I quickly closed my eyes tightly against it.  


“Aloy… are you okay? Are you awake, now? Are you back with us?”  


I nodded, still keeping my eyes closed.  


“By the sun…” Talanah sighed and I felt her shake my shoulders somewhat forcefully. “By the way you were screaming, I thought you were dying.”  


A knot appeared in my throat and I tried to swallow it down, but it was little use. When I opened my eyes again, Talanah was still hovering over me, the look of concern not lessened in the slightest.  


“Are you okay?” she asked.  


I began to nod and she shook my shoulders, again.  


“The truth.”  


I took a deep breath before finally finding my ability to speak.  


“I’m not dying.”  


Even my voice sounded raspy, like I had inhaled a bonfire’s amount of smoke, and I tried to clear it to help bring it back to normal. Talanah stared back at me for several moments before nodding slowly and releasing her hold on my shoulders and clambering off me, entirely.  


I slowly began to sit up and quickly found that the other two members of our party were also nearby, looking on with concern. My jaw clenched as I tried not to linger on their expressions for too long, instead sitting cross-legged on my bedroll and rubbing my eyes tiredly.  


“Aloy… is… are you going to be okay?”  


I looked up in surprise at how soft Petra’s voice was, completely at odds with every time I had spoken to her, thus far.  


“I… I haven’t heard someone scream like that since… since the battle at Meridian, at least…”  


I looked down at my lap, not wanting to answer the question.  


I wasn’t supposed to be the one on this end of the conversation.  


Nothing fazed me.  


The end of the world.  


My own death.  


Nothing.  


“Aloy, dammit, say something.”  


Erend’s insistent tone only made me clench my jaw even tighter until I finally looked back up at the rest of them.  


“I’m not dead, and I’m not dying.”  


“That’s not a full answer,” Petra shot back. “We can see that.”  


“It’s… there’s a lot riding on this,” I continued. “I’m a little nervous is all.”  


“A little nervous doesn’t equate to screaming like you’re being murdered.”  


My jaw clenched as images of Lansra’s furious expression floated before my eyes for a moment.  


“What’s waiting for us in the Nora lands that you’re so afraid of?”  


I glared back at the other three and began to get to my feet when hands suddenly grabbed my arms and pulled me back down.  


“Aloy, answer the question.”  


I glanced around at all of them and for a moment their images flickered and changed, one sporting long, red hair, another a short, blonde hairdo a thousand years out of date, and the other a bright blue headscarf. A laugh forced its way out of me as I shook my head.  


“Nothing, just a group of people who probably think I’m no longer the god, reincarnate, that they think I am.”  


I tried to push myself to my feet, but hands quickly grabbed my arms and held me in place, prompting another angry glare around the group.  


“Aloy, you don’t have to be,” Erend said. “They owe you—we _all_ owe you—so much… if they don’t believe you, they’re idiots.”  


My glare began to crack until finally I sighed, looking back down at my lap.  


“If only that’s all it took to convince an entire tribe of people.”  


A sudden squeeze of my left arm brought my attention back up to Talanah.  


“Well, you convinced this group of random people who had no reason to believe you, before.”  


She offered a small smile and I couldn’t resist as the angry, bitter wall that had appeared inside my chest began to crack. I tried to look away, but Erend began to shake my other shoulder.  


“See? Your word carries more than you think.”  


I looked up at him as a grin finally cracked my features and I felt the general demeanor of the group relax somewhat.  


“So, in the morning, we’re gonna be right behind you when you kick down the Nora’s front door, all right?”  


I nodded and the others offered soft laughter, as well, before Erend released his grip on my arm and patted me on the shoulder.  


“Now I’m gonna get some rest. Gotta be at my best to meet the Nora, now, right?”  


I grinned and nodded as he rose from his position beside me and made his way back over to his bedroll. Petra leaned forward and placed one hand on my knee.  


“We’ve seen worse, little spark,” she said, “we’ll get through this.”  


With that, she made her way back to her bedroll, as well, leaving only Talanah with her hand still gripping my arm. I glanced down at her grip for a moment before looking up at her.  


“You okay?” I asked, smirking.  


She stared back at me for a moment before heaving a heavy sigh and nodding, releasing her grasp on me, finally.  


“You think you can sleep, right away?”  


I stared back at her for several moments as I chewed the inside of my cheek in thought before I shrugged.  


“I don’t know if I can, no.”  


She glanced back toward the other two before leaning in close.  


“I have something that might help take off the edge.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Coming soon: time to meet the old, slightly racist, mostly disapproving family... with friends!
> 
> See y'all next week.


	11. You Can Never Go Home the Same

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Monday y'all.
> 
> Coming to you live from the surprisingly hot New York City. I've been here visiting a friend for 2 days and while the beach was nice, I'm ready for autumn weather.
> 
> Anyway, speaking of visiting old familiars...

The next dreams weren’t so bad, in comparison. I stood on the beach to a large lake that stretched so far toward the horizon I couldn’t see its other side. The spray of water as the wind churned the waves at my feet hit my face and when I tried to wipe it away with my hand, some of the droplets slipped into my mouth and I realized how salty they tasted. I quickly tried to spit them back out, but it was no use; the taste was firmly set in through my mouth.  


As I turned away from the water, I found another figure standing behind me, holding a small, black device in her hands. I raised one hand to block my face from her and she laughed.  


“Too late, Lis.”  


I lowered my hand, a grin pulling at my lips as the girl approached, coming to a stop beside me and hitting my shoulder with hers before she held the device before me so I could see. The screen showed an image of what had to be myself, but it looked so strange, now. The hair was shorter, halfway to my shoulders, and the loose, fuzzy top certainly didn’t look homemade.  


“Eh? Not too bad.”  


“You couldn’t get me when my hair wasn’t blowing all over the place?”  


The girl rolled her eyes before ruffling my hair even further.  


“It’s your look, nature girl,” she teased before suddenly leaning in and placing a kiss to my left cheek.  


I froze in place as a warm feeling appeared in the center of my chest, quickly spreading out to my arms and up my neck to my cheeks. The feeling ended in my fingertips as I felt them seem to vibrate slightly, prompting me to rub them together involuntarily.  


Just as I went to turn back to the girl, I found I was no longer on the beach, but outside a brightly-lit building, although I could make out the inky sky behind it that told me it was late at night. I glanced up at the large, glowing sign above the front doors but I didn’t recognize whatever names were displayed on it.  


“I told you, for the thousandth time, you don’t have to worry.”  


My eyes widened as I whirled toward the voice, my breath catching in my throat when I spotted the middle-aged woman with red hair pulled back into a tight braid, a grin on her features and a glint in her eye.  


“It’s my treat.”  


I rushed forward, trying to throw my arms around her, but as I did, I fell forward into a massive expanse of white. When my face slammed into it, I was hit by a blast of freezing cold wetness that prompted me to let out a cry of surprise and quickly try to push myself out of the snow. Laughter from behind prompted me to whirl around as I wiped at my face with the back of a gloved hand.  


A boy with dark skin and wearing a fancy, collared jacket and bright orange hat shook his head as he waved dismissively at me.  


“You’re crazy.”  


I spit some of the last pieces of snow out of my mouth as I shook my head, but when everything fell still, again, I was no longer in a wintery landscape, but staring up at the myriad of blue lines through the branches and leaves of a tree overhead. I lay still for a moment or two longer until I had convinced myself that the scene hadn’t changed, and wouldn’t, unless I moved myself. A deep inhale through my nose immediately brought back memories of setting up camp and gathering firewood and I slowly let it out in a heavy sigh.  


All feelings of tension from the first nightmare seemed to be gone. The usual soreness in my back and side had set in, but if anything they also felt subdued compared to normal. I began to stretch out on my bedroll, groaning softly as I pushed the fur blanket aside.  


When I pushed myself to a sitting position, I found the world spun around me for a moment or two and I pressed my hands against my temples until it stopped. I blinked several times before focusing on the long-dead campfire before me. The ashy heap seemed so at odds with the bright colors and motion of the world around that for a moment I began to wonder if I was still dreaming… or if whatever Talanah had given me last night had left a permanent impact on my brain.  


At the mere thought of the strange, earthy taste and the whirlwind of colors that had followed as the stars had seemed to melt from the night sky, swirling around the fire before whisking across the grass into the distance, I felt my stomach lurch slightly and I clenched my jaw, placing one hand over my abdomen. A moment later, however, the feeling passed and I breathed a sigh of relief.  


A quick glance around the campsite revealed that Petra and Erend were still asleep, and as my gaze reached Talanah’s bedroll, I found it empty, the blanket tossed aside. With a slight frown, I began to run through my morning routine of stretching to release the tension in my back and side, but I found that they somehow felt looser than normal, already. With a smirk and a soft groan, I finished my stretches and quietly got to my feet.  


When I slipped out from underneath the low-hanging branches of the tree we had taken shelter under, I nearly ran into one of the Striders and came to a halt, grinning as I pat it on the neck, eliciting a robotic whine and huff as it shook its head in response.  


“Good thing you didn’t run away,” I muttered. “Would really suck to lose all our supplies in the middle of the night.”  


With a sigh, I moved past the machine, noting the other three still grazed nearby, as well. In addition to the machines having not left, I counted it lucky that a hunting party hadn’t come along and immediately attacked, either. Probably wouldn’t be long before one started making its way out here, though, seeing as it appeared to be just after sunrise.  


I crossed the worn path and made my way toward the stream on the other side, falling to my knees beside it as I quickly reached for the water. As soon as I had cupped some in my hands, a shiver ran down my spine from the temperature alone, but I took a deep breath and splashed it over my face, all the same. The shock was enough to cause me to suck in a sharp breath as a shiver wracked my entire body, but I was undoubtedly awake, now.  


I rinsed my hands in the stream before quickly rubbing at my face, trying to remove any of the dust and sand from the desert from it in the hopes to not look entirely like a filthy vagabond when we approached the Embrace gate.  


A few moments later, I decided I had done all I could and got to my feet, once again, groaning as I did.  


“Guess I counted my blessings too soon.”  


I continued to shake the water droplets from my hands as I made my way back toward the campsite, using the back of my hand to wipe at the stray droplets that still rolled down my face, as well. When I stooped beneath the branches, I found that Erend had awoken, but Petra still slept and Talanah remained missing.  


“One thing that blockhead at Daybreak was right about,” Erend muttered as he spotted me approaching, “s’been a while since I’ve spent the night in somewhere cooler than Meridian.”  


“Your blood starting to thin?” I teased.  


“It’ll take more than that to reduce me to the Carja’s level,” he laughed.  


I shrugged.  


“I can’t say I miss the freezing cold winters… but sweating to death just after sunrise isn’t much better, either.”  


Erend nodded agreement as he yawned, glancing around and noting the empty bedroll, as well.  


“Speaking of the Carja, where’s she run off to?” he asked.  


I shrugged again.  


“Don’t know. She was gone when I woke up a few minutes ago.”  


Erend made a “huh” sound before glancing over at Petra, who had somehow managed to stay asleep through our conversation, thus far, with neither of us making any effort to be quiet.  


“How long do you reckon we give her before we wake her up by force?”  


“That won’t be necessary.”  


Erend smirked as Petra began to stir, slowly crawling from beneath her blanket and pulling herself to a kneeling position beside her bedroll.  


“Reminds me of the good old times,” she sighed. “Sleeping out in the stars… granted, that was usually because I snuck out against my mother’s strict commands not to.”  


“I wouldn’t expect anything less,” I replied, smirking.  


“Mmm…” she nodded, “was a little different back then, though. Body heat made the nights feel a whole lot warmer.”  


Erend and I rolled our eyes as she laughed.  


“You saying you’ve never had a romantic excursion under the stars?” she shot back, glancing between the two of us.  


Erend froze for a moment as I raised my eyebrows.  


“You mean… together?” he asked quietly.  


Petra stared back at him for a moment before bursting into laughter.  


“I didn’t, but the look on your face is priceless.”  


Erend grumbled something inaudible as he turned away from her, beginning to gather his things and pull on his armor, once again. I sighed as I shook my head, but began to do so with my things, as well. By the time the three of us had packed our bedrolls and donned our full clothing for the day, Talanah was still nowhere to be found, and I frowned as I glanced around us. We weren’t exactly in a secluded location, with visibility for quite a ways in each direction, but there was no obvious signs of the dark-haired Carja.  


“Did you two have a little too much fun last night and you lost our fourth party member?” Petra teased, elbowing me playfully as I continued to scan for signs of her.  


“I can’t remember much after you two went to sleep,” I began, shaking my head slowly, “but I’m pretty sure she was there.”  


“She probably just went for a morning hunt, or something,” Erend shrugged, “lost track of time.”  


“Maybe…” I replied, biting my lower lip, “but in a place she doesn’t know? And for this long?”  


I glanced back at the other two to find them looking to me with more serious expressions than moments ago.  


“You think she’s hurt?”  


“I think she can handle herself,” I replied, “so it’s not the machines I’m worried about…”  


Silence fell over us for a moment before Petra cleared her throat.  


“You really think some passing Nora would—what—kill her or capture her?”  


I frowned slightly.  


“I don’t know what they’d do nowadays.”  


Erend’s lips pulled into a thin line as he nodded slowly. The Sundom wasn’t the only place that would undoubtedly be on high alert after the Eclipse campaign. They had stopped in Nora lands first, after all.  


Just then, the sounds of footsteps approaching on the dirt trail drew our attentions and I quickly found myself reaching for my bow, nocking an arrow to it almost before I had even realized I had pulled it over my head. A moment later, a familiar head of dark hair ducked under the overhanging branches and came to a sudden stop at the sight of an arrow pointed at her.  


“Uh… good morning to you, too,” Talanah said slowly, raising her hands defensively.  


I sighed, lowering my weapon and returning my arrow to the quiver.  


“Heard footsteps, didn’t know who—or what—it could be.”  


She nodded slowly, relaxing her posture once again.  


“Sorry, went for a morning walk and—uh—got lost.”  


I raised my eyebrows slightly, bracing my hands on my hips.  


“Did you, now?”  


“Yeah,” she said slowly, but she didn’t sound entirely convinced.  


“And… how did you find your way back, then?”  


“I followed your signal.”  


Confusion creased my face as Talanah grinned and pointed to the Focus beside her ear.  


“When I turned it on, hoping I could figure out how to contact you like you did that one time, I noticed the weird, radiating circle—thing—that I assumed had to be you.”  


I nodded slowly; I couldn’t lie, I was rather impressed she had figure that out so easily.  


“So… here I am.”  


Just then, a sound in the distance drew our attentions and I quickly moved beside Talanah, pushing some of the smaller branches of the tree aside as I glanced out toward the trail again. Four figures appeared against the wilderness, moving close together as I noted the weapons held in their hands.  


“Just got lost, huh?” I said dryly, turning to look at Talanah.  


She smiled nervously as I sighed, my eyes sliding closed for a moment as I sighed heavily.  


“And made some friends…”  


“Looks we’re going to meet the Nora already,” I growled, slinging my bow over my shoulders.  


Talanah hurried to pack her bedroll as I grabbed mine from the ground, and took a deep breath. As I stepped from the cover of the tree, several members of the Nora hunting party suddenly pointed in my direction and they froze. One raised his weapon before the Brave beside him tapped his shoulder and pointed. He hesitated for a moment before slowly lowering the weapon.  


They had undoubtedly noticed the hair, even from this distance.  


The Brave who had stopped the one with the bow raised her hand in a waving gesture and I returned it. They appeared to take that as a signal and began to move toward me, once again. I glanced back as the others stepped from the cover of the tree, as well. By the looks on their faces, the Nora must have offered a somewhat less warm response.  


When I turned back to the approaching hunters, I found that they had closed the gap faster than I had expected, and were drawing near enough that I could fully make out the faces of each of them. None of the Braves seemed incredibly familiar, but there was an unmistakable recognition in their expressions… tempered with wariness.  


“Do our eyes deceive us, or has Aloy, the Annointed, returned home?” the Brave at the front of the group, seemingly the woman who had waved moments ago, asked.  


“They do not.”  


The Braves shifted slightly as they looked me up and down before turning their attentions to the rest of the group.  


“And you brought travelling companions.”  


“I did.”  


I noted how the group’s eyes passed over Petra and Erend with some amount of wariness, but little else, however when they reached Talanah two of them stiffened while the woman’s eyebrows raised.  


“So that explains why a Carja was so far into Nora lands on her own.”  


“Not on my own, after all,” Talanah shot back and I felt my shoulders tensing.  


We didn’t need a confrontation right away.  


I had carefully planned the first meeting in my head, and now we’d already veered so far off course that I didn’t need this to spiral out into the ditch, entirely.  


“So, what brings you back?” the female Brave at the head of the group said, turning her attention back to me, finally.  


I took a deep breath in through my nose as I squared my jaw slightly.  


“I need to talk to the High Matriarchs.”  


The Brave actually looked somewhat surprised by my request, but it quickly turned into something akin to a smirk.  


“I suppose the Annointed can make such requests when she wants.”  


Something hidden in her tone made the hair on the back of my neck stand up, but a moment later the Brave nodded in the direction they had arrived.  


“Come then, we’ll escort you in.”  


She must have sensed our hesitation as she sighed.  


“Consider it for your companions’ sake.”  


The hints of the tense feeling that had come over me turned into a full-on vice grip around my ribcage as my jaw clenched.  


This was already off to a great start.  


“Okay then.”  


As they turned to begin walking, I instead spun on my heel and began to make my way toward the Striders.  


“Where are you going?”  


I slung my bedroll into the bag draped over the back of the Strider before grabbing the wires from the back of its head and beginning to guide the machine toward the others. At the sight of me leading a machine, several of the Braves recoiled in surprise, reaching for their weapons, but I held one hand up toward them.  


“It’s with me, too.”  


They all exchanged incredulous looks before they began to shake their heads, muttering various incomprehensible phrases. Their expressions changed back to bewilderment as the others grabbed their Striders, as well, leading them as I did.  


“On the Goddess, I swore I’d seen it all after those cultists attacked…” one of the Braves uttered louder than he likely intended, but his wide-eyed stare told me he hadn’t registered his own voice.  


“Will they remain so… docile?” the Brave at the head of the group asked, eying the machines even more warily than she had my human companions.  


“As long as no one tries to attack them.”  


She nodded slowly for several moments, staring at the glowing blue “eye” of my Strider as if lost in thought.  


“Maybe you should ride them… to make sure no one tries to shoot from afar.”  


I raised my eyebrows slightly.  


“Or if they do it hits us?”  


Her lips pulled into a thin line as she turned her gaze back to me, something dark flashing across her eyes for a moment.  


“You’re the one bringing foreign creatures into our lands. You take what risk comes with them.”  


As she finished speaking, I noted how her eyes had shifted from the machine beside me to something over my shoulder and I found a fire quickly building in my chest, my hand around the wires of the machine tightening until my knuckles turned a brilliant white. Before I lost all control of my ability to hold my tongue, the Brave turned and motioned for us to follow.  


“Come. There will be no need to delay your requested meeting.”  


Because the sooner it happens, the sooner we’ll be gone.  


Suddenly, the woman froze as the realization that my voice had rung in my ears a moment ago hit me and a boulder sank in my stomach.  


The Brave glanced over her shoulder for a moment, weighing her words carefully before speaking.  


“Perhaps.”  


With that, she turned and began to stride quickly forward, not looking to see if any of her own party were following, either. I spared a quick glance back at my companions and found Erend and Petra with grimaces on their faces, but Talanah’s bore a barely restrained rage. I could detect how her jaw worked beneath her skin and her lip trembled slightly before she forcefully bit down on it.  


Turning back to the Nora, I decided to follow the Brave’s advice and hauled myself atop the Strider before gently urging it forward after them. The others in my group followed suit, settling into a vague cluster around me, with Erend and Petra to my right and Talanah to my left. As she pulled alongside me, I glanced over at her, catching her glance for a moment and offering a tight-lipped nod. She grimaced slightly before rolling her neck and shoulders and settling back in her seat on the Strider.  


We were already close to my worst fears coming true and we weren’t even inside the fucking Embrace, yet.  


The rest of the journey to the main Embrace gate passed in near total silence amongst both groups, and there was especially no communication between us and the Braves. Finally, when we cleared a small copse of trees and came within sight of the Embrace gate, I almost brought my Strider to a stop for a moment, but instead simply settled on staring wide-eyed at it.  


In the months since the Eclipse attack, it looked like almost no repairs had been done. One half of the gate still hung loose, while the other looked barely held together by large coils of rope. My eyes travelled along the cracked and dilapidated logs until I noticed the guard post atop the left hand side. The outlines of two figures were visible inside it, and one of them raised their hand in greeting. The Nora Braves echoed it, and I thought about doing so, as well, but hesitated at the last moment.  


Something felt wrong about me engaging with familiarity, now.  


When we finally reached the actual gate, and the short bridge that crossed the stream before it, we found another party of Braves waiting for us. This time, however, a familiar face stood at the forefront.  


“I had to see for myself if the scouts’ words were true,” Sona called as we approached. “When I heard that Aloy had returned, I couldn’t quite believe their word, alone.”  


Something twitched in my jaw for a moment, but I pushed it back down as I brought my Strider to a stop.  


“And I also heard you brought more foreigners to Nora lands,” she continued, eying my companions, as well.  


“They’ve come to help.”  


Sona raised one eyebrow in response.  


“To help whom? The Nora?”  


“Me, the Nora, and the rest of the Tribes.”  


She continued to stare back at me for several moments in stiff silence that felt as if every other figure nearby was holding their breath, as well.  


“You’re not trying to establish more trade routes, are you?”  


I stared back at her in silence for several moments as her words ran through my head several times. It was not at all what I had expected.  


A moment later, she let out a laugh, her lips twisting into a smirk.  


“It was in jest, Aloy,” she said. “It’s good to see you back home.”  


The tense feeling faded slightly in my chest, but the second time, now, that someone had referred to the Nora lands as my “home” sent a strange feeling running down my spine.  


“She wishes to speak with the High Matriarchs,” the Brave who had led us from our camp interjected, stepping forward slightly.  


“Does she now?” Sona replied, glancing over at her. “I assumed she would tell me her reasons, herself.”  


A smirk tugged at my lips as I glanced down at the Brave, whose jaw had visibly clenched.  


“Come, climb off your mounts and let’s talk on the way,” Sona turned to me, waving for me to follow.  


I hesitated for a moment before swinging my leg over the back of the Strider and hopping to the ground. When I began to lead the Strider past the other Braves, I caught the glare of the female Brave and returned it with a clenched-jaw expression of my own. A moment later, however, I turned away from her and continued toward Sona, who eyed the machine beside me warily.  


“He’s perfectly docile,” I said, patting the side of its neck.  


She looked to me curiously.  


“It’s a ‘he’?”  


I shrugged.  


“I don’t know if that matters to a machine.”  


Sona nodded and shrugged at the same time, glancing at the machine, one last time.  


“Seems like a ‘he’ to me.”  


With a smirk, I fell in step beside her, leisurely holding the wires to the Strider beside me.  


“So, you come to counsel with the High Matriarchs?” Sona asked immediately. “May I ask why?”  


I sighed.  


“It’s a long story, but… my work to—heal the corruption—is not done.”  


“You defeated the demon at Meridian,” she pointed out.  


“Yes, but you saw how it commanded all those machines,” I shot back. “It’s not as simple as killing one part of all that… besides, not all of my goal lies in destroying things.”  


Sona gave me a curious look.  


“You’re… here to help the Nora rebuild?”  


She seemed genuinely surprised, and I quickly tried to swallow down the lump in my throat.  


“In a way… yes,” I said slowly. “I’m not entirely here to… erect lodges and fix fences.”  


I glanced generally back toward the gate and Sona’s lips pulled into a thin line.  


“If I accomplish what I seek… it could help the Nora, and everyone else, for years to come.”  


Sona’s expression was unreadable as she stared ahead. Finally, she nodded slowly.  


“What you describe seems admirable,” she finally said. “I hope your meeting goes well.”  


I sighed.  


“Me, too…”  


After several long moments of silence, in which I caught sight of Mother’s Cradle, still almost entirely piles of burnt logs and ashes, although most seemed to have been cleared to the sides of the former village, while two larger lodges had been built in the center, likely to provide at least somewhere for the former residents to live, and give a sense that it was still actually a settlement, and not a barren scrap of land.  


“Progress has been slow,” Sona commented, noticing my gaze. “There are not nearly as many Braves as we once had… as you are aware.”  


I nodded slowly, heaving a heavy sigh as I tore my eyes away from the sad remnant of a Nora village.  


“Have… have they elected a new High Matriarch?”  


Sona started slightly, and I noticed a pained expression cross her face for a moment before she steeled herself, once again.  


“No. The process is long and arduous, and we have not had enough time to devote to such things.”  


I nodded quickly, uttering an “oh” in response.  


With a sigh, Sona rubbed her eyes tiredly.  


“Many are still in mourning. It is too painful to bring to a vote, or council, yet.”  


Suddenly, an overwhelming feeling of guilt, pain, anger, and sadness exploded inside me and I physically buckled against the side of my Strider, an involuntary gasp escaping me, as well. Sona immediately looked over and reached toward my arm, but I held one hand out toward her.  


“I’m… I’m okay,” I managed, but I couldn’t stop my hand from shaking violently around the wire of the Strider.  


Sona stared at me for several long moments before nodding and resuming our path toward Mother’s Watch, presumably.  


As we started walking again, images of the long, grey-haired Matriarch speared at the end of a Corruptor’s tail flashed before me and I felt a new wave of nausea roil inside my stomach.  


It had been my idea to come back…  


Didn’t matter, needed to push ahead.  


There was a goal in mind.  


I had to be absolutely prepared for what I needed to say to the Matriarchs to even get close.  


Right.  


One thing at a time.  


Convince them to let me and three strangers inside their most scared place.  


Fix GAIA.  


Fix the world.  


Simple.  


The sound of a voice beside me registered in my ear, but it took me a moment to realize it was speaking to me and I blinked rapidly to break myself out of my reverie.  


“What?”  


Sona smirked and glanced behind us.  


“I asked who your companions are.”  


“They can speak for themselves,” I replied, glancing back. “Hey, you three. Sona wants to know who you are.”  


“Well, who’s Sona?” Petra shot back, grinning.  


I actually heard the War-Chief let out a low chuckle as I smirked.  


“I am the Nora War Chief,” she said.  


“Aloy, what is it with you and knowing such powerful women?” Petra called back. “You’re really making me jealous.”  


I rolled my eyes dramatically, but I could feel the burning starting in my cheeks and I turned away from her.  


“Well, I’m Petra Forgewoman, the greatest tinkerer this side of the Claim.”  


“And the most modest, as you can tell,” Erend chimed in, prompting her to slap him across the back of the head.  


“This ‘un’s Erend,” she said, jerking her thumb toward him.  


“Erend Vanguardsman, thank you,” he finished. “I’m captain of the Vanguard, the elite guard of mostly Oseram warriors who protect the Sun King.”  


“I remember you,” Sona said, nodding slowly. “You were at the Proving where—”  


She suddenly stopped mid-sentence, her mouth hanging open for a moment before she quickly clamped her jaw shut, nodding resolutely instead.  


“From the Proving.”  


Realization crossed Erend’s face and he nodded, as well.  


After a few moments of tense silence, Sona turned her attention to Talanah, who had remained silent this entire time as she walked beside Petra.  


“And who might you be?”  


She cleared her throat, tilting her head back slightly as I noted how her posture took on an attempt to appear more imposing.  


“Talanah Khane Padish. I am a Hawk at the Hunter’s Lodge in Meridian, and I helped Aloy infiltrate Sunfall not a week ago.”  


My lips pulled into a thin line as I glanced back at Talanah, trying not to acknowledge Sona’s gaze that had turned to me, now. The raven-haired huntress noted my response and her posture quickly deflated, her head hanging slightly as she offered a weak smile in apology.  


“I have only heard stories of that place,” Sona said, finally bringing my attention to her. “It is said to be the home of what remains of the Carja who led the Red Raids.”  


“It is,” I sighed, “and those who formed the cult who attacked here and Meridian.”  


“Sounds like a dangerous place,” she replied. “Why did you feel the need to enter it?”  


“It was the first step that led me back here,” I said.  


Sona pondered that for a moment or two before nodding, again.  


“Then it appears to have been necessary.”  


With that, we fell silent for several long minutes, until we rounded yet another bend in the dirt path that constituted a road in Nora lands and the outer wall of Mother’s Watch came into view. I felt myself stiffen involuntarily, but I quickly tried to force myself to relax. There was no use coming into the situation high-strung, already.  


That could come as I spoke, later.  


When we approached the front gate, Sona turned to me, bringing us to a stop.  


“I will have to ask that you leave your machines here,” she said. “While they have been perfectly tame so far, I fear what could happen in a crowded space.”  


I nodded in understanding, leading my Strider off the path and releasing it to graze about on its own. Before I walked away, however, I untied one of the bags across its back and slung the rope over my shoulder, letting the bag come to rest on the back of my right shoulder before returning to Sona. The others in my group left their Striders near mine and made their over to us, as well.  


Once we had all assembled, Sona glanced around at us for several moments before taking a deep breath.  


“Word has likely spread,” she began, “of Aloy’s return, and the three strangers who have arrived with her. The Nora are suffering, now… I cannot guarantee your safety from verbal attacks, however, stick by me and any physical ones should be avoided.”  


I glanced around at the others to find expressions of unease that mirrored the feeling in my chest, but we all finally nodded.  


With that, Sona turned and led the way toward the gate.  


“War Chief Sona has arrived!” a sentry on the top of the wall called back into the settlement. “She brings Aloy, the Annointed! Open the gate!”  


Well, at least he bothered to include my name, too.  


With a loud groan, the gates began to pull back, slowly revealing an opening that grew larger and larger until we were able to enter the settlement in a loose, single-file line. As soon as we stepped inside, I found myself confronted by a sea of faces larger than any crowd I had ever seen gathered inside Mother’s Watch, before.  


Immediately, images of a dark, candlelit tunnel flashed before me, the cries of wounded and possibly dying people ringing faintly in my ears. I found my shoulders hunching slightly as I fought my instincts to shrink away and disappear from the spotlight.  


There was no chance that was going to actually happen, anyway.  


Murmurs arose from the crowd as Sona led the way through them all, and I tried not to actually meet anyone’s gaze for more than a moment or two as I followed her toward the hill at the back of the open courtyard. We were almost halfway through the crowd when a loud shout from behind me caused both Sona and me to spin around, instantly braced for some kind of fight.  


Talanah was recoiling away from a man with a large beard and a shaved head, a nasty scar running from behind his left ear to his temple.  


“Did you come to revel in the suffering of our people?!” he spat, moving closer to her even as she tried to keep her distance. “Does it bring you joy?!”  


“Enough!” Sona barked, pushing past me toward the scene, but the man wasn’t listening.  


“Your people took everything from me!” he screamed, now inches from Talanah’s face as she braced her hands on his chest and attempted to shove him away, but he whisked her arms aside with a simple, violent motion of his own. “Do you see this?”  


He gestured to the scar on the side of his head.  


“That’s what the Carja left me. No mother… no father… no sister… just this!”  


He turned to glare at the rest of the group even as Sona reached him and brusquely shoved him backward.  


“That’s what all you outsiders bring here! You bring pain and misery to this land!” his eyes locked with mine for a moment and I could practically feel the hatred seething from them. “This curse brings them to us, yet again. She is not Nora blood. She is a devil! A demon!”  


Murmurs quickly spread amongst the crowd as Sona forcefully grabbed the man by his tunic and threw him back into the crowd, prompting him to stagger, trip over someone else’s foot, and fall to the ground.  


“Do you forget how Aloy returned to defeat the cultists who threatened to destroy us?” she snapped, whirling to face the crowd. “She does not bring more of them to us, now. While these outsiders are here, they are under my, and my guard’s, supervision. If you harm Aloy, or her companions, you will answer to me.”  


The crowd instantly fell silent as Sona’s gaze swept the crowd. When no one else, nor the same man, tried to approach, she nodded and made her way back toward me.  


“Come. Let’s not dawdle any longer.”  


I nodded, sparing a glance toward Talanah to see her staring back at the man who had so nearly assaulted her, her jaw set and her eyes ablaze, but she finally tore her gaze away when Petra tugged on her arm. Our gazes met and I saw her take a noticeably deep breath before nodding shortly. I returned it with one of my own before following after Sona toward the trail to the mountain entrance.  


The path was thankfully less crowded than the main courtyard of the settlement, but as we reached the entrance, I spotted a line of Nora Braves before it, spears in hand. For a moment, my heart sank in my chest as the thought that they were there for us, specifically, crossed my mind, but I tried to push it aside as Sona strode forward, seemingly undeterred.  


“I trust you know of our arrival,” she said shortly.  


As I glanced at the Brave who stepped forward from the line, I swallowed nervously.  


Varl gave me a quick glance before turning back to his mother.  


“The Matriarchs have been notified.”  


“And what is their response?”  


Varl paused for a moment, his jaw working in silence as he glanced past Sona to my companions, seemingly.  


“They will see Aloy—alone.”  


My jaw clenched as I felt the fire quickly erupt in my chest and turn into a raging inferno. Sona began to say something else to Varl, but the only sound I could make out was my pounding heartbeat in my ears before I began to stalk forward.  


“What, are they afraid?” I snapped. “Where I go, my friends go, too.”  


“Aloy,” Sona snapped, turning to me, but I ignored her.  


“They supposed to remain in your care out here, so they can enjoy Nora hospitality like they just did down there?” I seethed, jabbing a finger back toward Mother’s Watch.  


“Aloy.”  


“You want your chance to try to intimidate them, too?” I snapped, finally reaching Sona and Varl as she stepped in front of me. “Afraid to say anything while I’m here?!”  


“Aloy, stop!”  


Sona grabbed my shoulders firmly and brought me to a halt, even as I tried to see Varl around her, but she also maneuvered herself between us, each time.  


“You just saw what happened down there, too,” she hissed. “Times are tense. You are the Annointed, therefore despite what—some—may think of you, you have more of a right to enter the mountain than anyone other than the Matriarchs, themselves. Do not squander your moment to speak with them.”  


I finally held still as I glared at Sona, but she refused to relent, meeting my gaze with her equally intense expression. After several long moments, I sighed, nodding slowly.  


“Fine, I’ll talk to them.”  


As Sona began to release me, and I caught sight of Varl again, my jaw tightened.  


“Alone.”  


His face was unreadable as I turned back to Erend, Petra, and Talanah.  


“It’s okay, Flame Hair,” Petra chimed in quickly. “We can hold our own out here.”  


I gave a small smile in response and Talanah caught my eye with one of her own, and a firm nod. My smile widened for a moment before I took a deep breath and turned back to the Braves, stalking past Varl without giving him a second glance. As I approached the opening in their line, I noted the expressions on the Braves to either side. The one on the left gave me a dark glare that betrayed the seething emotions beneath, while still holding his calm façade, while the other seemed… curious, if anything. I tried not to meet either of their gazes as I slipped between and stepped up to the opening at the top of the tunnel.  


As soon as my eyes caught sight of the metal causeway leading down to the large door at the bottom, I paused. The lighting seemed to flicker between a soft, orange glow, and a harsh, white fluorescence until I finally squeezed my eyes shut and rubbed them with my fingers. When I opened them, once again, the tunnel had returned to its soft, orange, candle-lit glow.  


“Not now… not the time…” I muttered before quickly stepping through the entryway.  


As I descended the slope toward the large door at the bottom, a single Matriarch stepped from the smaller doorway to the right, coming to a stop in the center of my path. She simply gestured to the door she had just exited, her expression neutral.  


“The High Matriarchs await you in the prayer shrine,” she said, her voice much softer than I expected.  


I nodded before turning and following her gesture into the hallway. Immediately, memories of limping through this very place came to mind and I instinctually rubbed at my side, the pain across my back also flaring for the first time in months.  


“Not… now…”  


With a deep breath, I pushed the sensations aside before continuing on into the first of the wider, round rooms in the hallway. The sound of murmuring voices from right drew me to the doorway, and as I stepped into it, I found two figures at the far end of the room beyond.  


They turned toward me at the sound of my footsteps, and I felt my jaw clench tighter as I took a deep breath in through my nose, the scent of smoke from the candles and incense nearly strong enough to cause a coughing fit, but I held it back at the last moment.  


“Aloy, come in.”  


My feet remained rooted to the spot for a moment or two longer as I felt my heart beat begin to race as I worked up the will to move myself onward.  


No turning back now.  


“It seems we have much to discuss.”  


Showtime.


	12. Showtime

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Monday y'all.
> 
> Get your drink of choice and maybe a snack ready and strap in, 'cause this one's a massive one this week.
> 
> I debated splitting it in two, but I couldn't find a point to do so that I liked, and to preserve the pacing into the upcoming chapter this was just easier.
> 
> It's time for a bit of the 'ole razzle dazzle... and smoke and mirrors.
> 
> Also, before we get started, I just wanted to express my extreme thanks to everyone who's come this far and continues to read on. I've seen a lot of comments start all the way back in Duality and still continue today, and that just blows my mind. I never thought Duality would be all that popular, let alone see a good amount of readership seemingly continue into the third "book" in this series.
> 
> Whether you started way back last year when I started posting for the first time, or have hopped on the train sometime since, y'all are the real MVPs.
> 
> Thank you.
> 
> So, I hope you enjoy this week!

I stepped into the shrine and slowly made my way toward the two elder women at the far end of the room. Jezza wore a tired smile as I approached, while Lansra had an expression that I couldn’t read. I had expected outright anger at the mere sight of me, but this was worse. If I couldn’t tell how she felt, already, it was going to be difficult to tell how hard I needed to come out swinging.  


“I’m guessing you already know why I came to see you,” I said slowly, my tone low but even.  


Jezza nodded.  


“The Matriarchs have informed us that you wish to enter the mountain, once again.”  


“I do.”  


“And this time, you seek to bring outsiders?”  


I could detect the faintest hint of hesitation in her tone, but my eyes were still focused on Lansra, whose expression had not changed.  


“I do.”  


Finally, her face cracked as she let out a low laugh, shaking her head.  


“I would only expect as such.”  


“And what would that be, exactly?” I shot back, my tone immediately biting.  


“Aloy…” Jezza chided, but Lansra also ignored her.  


“You seek to taint the holiness of this place even further,” she said. “While my sister—”  


She paused for a moment, swallowing painfully.  


“My _sisters_ and the rest of the tribe,” she continued, “may have seen your ability to enter the mountain as a divine right and a sign from the All Mother, I had my doubts… and now, they are becoming more and more founded.”  


“Have you been beyond the door?” I shot back.  


Lansra scoffed as Jezza inhaled sharply.  


“Of course not.”  


“Then how do you know anything about what All Mother wants or thinks?”  


“Aloy!” Jezza gasped.  


“Unlike you,” Lansra spat immediately, taking an aggressive step forward, “I have spent my entire life in her servitude—devoted and doting—while you have actively sought to cast aside her ways.”  


“Wasn’t she the one who told me to heal the corruption?” I replied.  


“And yet you brought it to the doorstep of this place,” she said, her voice low and quiet, “and allowed it to kill my sister.”  


My jaw clenched as an uncontrollable rage built in my chest. Images of her gored at the tip of my spear or with one of my arrows through her forehead flashed before me, but I curled my hands tightly into fists to prevent them from taking hold of any of my weapons.  


“I did not just _let_ any of that happen,” I spat.  


“No, you seem to command it,” she said immediately. “Wherever you go, it will follow.”  


“Did you not hear about Meridian?” I shot back. “I slew the Eclipse’s Buried Shadow. If it were not for that, the very machines who nearly destroyed the Nora would have done so a thousand times over, across the rest of the world.”  


“How do we know you truly slew it?” Lansra said. “Perhaps you are corrupted now, yourself.”  


My jaw clenched tightly as the elder woman and I locked gazes, as if we were trying to murder the other through sight alone.  


“That is enough,” Jezza interrupted, stepping between us. “We have not heard her request, in full, as there have been nothing but insults spoken in contest, so far.”  


With a short, dismissive laugh, Lansra began to turn to the shelf behind her, where numerous candles flickered along its surface.  


“Why do you seek to enter the mountain, Aloy?” Jezza asked softly.  


“Because All Mother bid me return, once again.”  


Confusion creased Jezza’s face as Lansra froze mid-motion as she reached for one of the candles. Slowly, she turned to face me, once again, an expression somewhere between anger and confusion on her face.  


“All Mother… spoke to you?”  


“What did she bid you do?”  


With a deep breath in through my nose, I closed my eyes and shook my head slowly.  


“I can’t explain it.”  


Lansra let out a dismissive scoff as my right hand slowly reached toward my belt.  


“She’s lying—of course she’s lying.”  


“I can show you, though.”  


They both fell silent as I heard Lansra fall still. The only sound I could hear in the room for several moments was my own heartbeat in my ears as I clutched something warm and round in a pouch at my hip. When I opened my eyes, I stepped forward, pulling my hand from the pouch, but keeping my hand tightly clasped around the item from within.  


I continued to approach the shrine at the front of the room until I stopped just before the two Matriarchs. They both eyed me apprehensively as I glanced between them before softly clearing my throat.  


“May I?”  


They exchanged glances of their own before nodding slowly.  


I slipped between them, approaching the main area of the shrine, where Lansra had moved for the candles a moment ago and held my right hand to my chest, tapping my finger slowly on the smooth surface of the item. After a moment or two longer, I carefully slipped my Focus from beside my ear and placed it on the shelf before me, before quickly placing the Scorcher lens over it.  


“Show me your message, All Mother.”  


With that, the logo in the center of the Focus lit up, and I began to take a step backward. A moment later, the image of a woman in a long, flowing dress and sporting a loose braid that trailed over one shoulder flickered into existence over the shrine, towering toward the ceiling of the room and tinged slightly red.  


“This message serves to inform you of an unforeseen and catastrophic anomaly.”  


Jezza and Lansra both recoiled, letting out incredibly audible gasps, but I kept my back to them. I listened to the towering image of the seeming Goddess speak about her self-destruction in an attempt to preserve life, and tried to brace myself for what came after.  


“You are my solution. I have ordered this Cradle facility to use genetic material in cryo-storage to gestate a re-instantiation of Elisabet Sobeck, my creator. You, Aloy. I finally understand who you are and where you came from… and I am sorry, to both of you, but you must know. You will be raised as a member of the tribal inhabitants outside this facility, and once you have reached physical maturity, your gene print will allow you to re-enter this facility, obtain one of the Focus devices stored below, and view this message. Likewise, your gene print will allow you to enter other facilities and, over time, harness their technologies to rebuild the system core, and reboot GAIA.”  


I could almost feel the stares of the two Matriarchs burning into my back as the “Goddess” continued, finally concluding what felt like an eternity later as my lips moved in sync with her words.  


“I only wish I could hear your voice again…”  


Finally, with that, the image flickered and disappeared from whence it came as I quickly stepped forward and grabbed the lens and Focus from the shelf, slipping them both back into their respective places before taking a deep breath and turning back to the two elder women behind me.  


“A-Aloy… that… she…” Jezza stammered, still staring blankly at where the image had stood moments ago  


“All Mother… she… spoke… I… we heard her voice,” Lansra added softly.  


They slowly brought their attentions back down to me, their eyes wide and their mouths partially agape.  


“She… you… her… _creator_?” Lansra managed, slowly shaking her head. “But… no… she… you… you can’t…”  


“You heard her,” I said softly. “I am.”  


Lansra continued to shake her head before suddenly throwing herself to the ground before me, prompting me to jump in surprise. She began to raise herself up and down in a repeated bowing gesture, muttering phrases that I could only vaguely make out as partially prayers to the Goddess and partially what seemed to be worship to—me.  


“No, Lansra, I—”  


“Aloy, you—you are what Teersa always said… and more,” Jezza interrupted, stepping forward and gently placing one hand on my arm.  


“What she—she said?” I replied, my tightly-wound armor I had wrapped around myself weakening for a moment as I felt a twinge of pain pass through my chest.  


“You are a gift from the Goddess,” she continued, “not a curse. She gave us the woman who—somehow— _made_ her… and we…”  


Jezza began to shake her head, her lower lip trembling as I quickly reached to place my free hand over hers.  


“I—understand,” I said slowly, “but do you now understand me?”  


She nodded quickly, and I glanced down at Lansra, who had not stopped moving this entire time.  


“Lansra, please, on your feet.”  


“Yes, Aloy,” she nodded, quickly scrambling to her feet and engendering an uncomfortable feeling that ran down my spine.  


“Do you understand why I came back, now?”  


She nodded quickly.  


“Yes.”  


“So… you understand why I need to enter the Mountain.”  


“Yes,” they said in unison.  


“And… you will allow this?”  


“Of course,” Lansra said quickly. “Just, please, I beseech you, Aloy.”  


Confusion rolled over me as I raised my eyebrows toward her.  


“Beseech me to do what?”  


“Help our people,” she said softly, stepping forward and grabbing hold of my other arm. “I ask your forgiveness for my actions, and that you do not hold this against the rest of the tribe.”  


In an instant, the strange, awkward feeling that had begun as soon as the recording had finished was burned away as my jaw clenched tightly and my eyes bore into her. A tight feeling pressed against my temples and for a moment my vision swam, but it returned as I suddenly heard my voice echoing in my ears.  


“ _Your_ actions?” I said quietly. “There have been more than just you, Lansra.”  


“We were misguided,” she said, her tone almost bordering on sobbing. “We did not understand.”  


“Even if you didn’t know what you do now,” I spat, “you treated me as less than a person. There are crowds of people outside who still view me as a curse and a plague upon the tribe.”  


“They are wrong, I can convince them,” she wailed, “but please, I beg of you…”  


My jaw clenched as I struggled to keep my mouth closed for a moment or two until I finally took a deep breath in through my nose, closing my eyes briefly.  


“My goal is to help the world, as a whole,” I said slowly. “That does not mean forsaking the Nora in its process… but I can’t forget.”  


“I understand,” she said, nodding, her voice falling to almost a whisper, “I only ask if you can forgive.”  


My jaw remained clenched as I stared down at her, every fiber of my being straining to contain the things that rose at the back of my throat and attempted to surge forth from the back of my mind, but I managed to withhold all of it at the last moment, even if just barely.  


“I will consider, but I cannot promise.”  


Lansra seemed to accept this and released me to begin clasping her hands before her and again making bowing motions, albeit this time while still standing. As she did, I turned back to Jezza to find a pained expression on her face.  


“I understand, Aloy,” she said softly, “even if I wish it weren’t so.”  


“But so it is,” I replied, sighing, “and we can’t change the past… no matter how hard we think we can try.”  


She nodded slowly, patting my arm softly before releasing me, as well.  


“Can my companions enter without threat of death from the Braves outside?”  


“Yes, of course,” she said quickly. “I will return with you to the entrance, to make sure.”  


I nodded curtly.  


“Thank you.”  


With that, we began to move toward the door out of the shrine, Lansra trailing a few feet behind as she continued mutter her prayers. Jezza and I walked in silence until we reached the main causeway that led out of the mountain. As we turned, she cleared her throat, drawing my attention to her.  


“The Goddess, she spoke of… repairing this GAIA… what is it?”  


I inhaled deeply through my nose, once again almost immediately overwhelmed by the smoke from the candles along the edges of the passageway.  


“It’s her home,” I said. “Like a… a temple of sorts.”  


“It is beyond that door?”  


I bit my lower lip for a moment as I stared straight ahead at the ever growing circle of light ahead of us.  


“Part of it is.”  


Jezza either accepted this answer, or didn’t know what else to ask, as she nodded slowly and fell silent. As we reached the barricaded entrance at the top, the two Braves immediately visible through the opening glanced back at us, both seeming somewhat confused by the babbling of the elder Matriarch behind us.  


“Step aside,” Jezza said, her voice soft but commanding. “Aloy and her companions may pass, unharmed and unhindered.”  


The gathered guards looked confused but slowly began to move away from the entrance as we stepped between them. I quickly scanned the open ground until I found my travelling companions almost exactly where I had left them, although Erend and Petra had taken seats against the rocky wall of the small clearing while Talanah paced restlessly before them. As Petra and I locked eyes, she straightened up, elbowing Erend and patting Talanah’s knee as she approached. They both looked at her before following her gaze, all of their faces quickly lighting up as I gave them a small smile and a nod.  


Erend and Petra quickly scrambled to their feet as Talanah began to step closer, but paused as she glanced to Varl and Sona and then the line of Braves on either side of Jezza and me.  


“Aloy has shown us,” Jezza continued, “that her purpose is given to her from the Goddess, herself.”  


“ _Shown_?” one of the Braves blurted out.  


“Yes,” Jezza replied, giving him a stern gaze as he bowed his head slightly. “She and her companions may enter the mountain as needed to help her complete her mission. While they are here, they are not to be harmed, nor harassed, any further.”  


I could see the varied expressions of annoyance and doubt on the various Braves, but before any of them could actually say anything, Lansra stepped from behind us, holding her hands up before her.  


“Aloy has shown us she is more than of the Goddess, she has a divine birthright that precedes her!”  


The Braves began to murmur amongst themselves and I caught the questioning expressions from Erend, Petra, and Talanah and I offered them a tight-lipped expression before turning back to Lansra.  


“We ask of her forgiveness for our crimes against her!”  


With that, Lansra suddenly spun toward me, beginning her bowing routine, once again, and I immediately squirmed in place, glancing around the clearing. Sona had an expression somewhere between curious and amused, while Varl beside her seemed much more conflicted. The Braves seemed more hesitant, but began to bow their heads, their mouths moving, but I couldn’t hear their words from where I stood.  


“Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.”  


The hair on the back of my neck stood up straight as ice poured through my veins. Motion appeared in the corner of my eye, but I couldn’t bring myself to look toward it, even as the voice came again from beside me.  


“And lead us not into temptation…”  


The vague shape and motion coalesced into a full figure who stepped from my right, pacing slowly behind Lansra.  


“But deliver us from evil.”  


I could only stare back at the blonde man as he glanced down at Lansra, a smirk tugging at his lips.  


“You finally got what you wanted, Lis,” he continued, glancing back up at me. “Worshipped like a god.”  


My jaw clenched as I tried to ignore the image of Ted, but he was soon joined by another figure from my left.  


“Don’t act so modest, now,” the young redhead, also dressed a thousand years out of style, said, flashing a predatory grin. “Revel in it. You’ve won.”  


“Everyone you couldn’t stand—who stood in your way—is dead,” Ted continued.  


“And yet you still stand,” the redhead finished.  


I blinked rapidly and rubbed at my eyes in an attempt to wipe them away, but it seemed little use.  


“So now it’s time to do what gods do best,” Ted sighed as he appeared immediately beside me, placing a hand on my shoulder that immediately made my skin crawl at how real it felt.  


“Remake the world in your image, as you see fit,” the young redhead said, placing her hand on my opposite shoulder. “No restrictions… nothing holding you back… you just have to convince thousands of people. No pressure, though.”  


Another hand on my back caused me to jump and I whirled to my left, only to find Jezza recoiling slightly.  


“Is everything okay, Aloy?” she asked.  


“Y-yeah, I’m fine, just… a lot,” I said, nodding quickly. “We need to get our things before we enter.”  


Jezza nodded and gestured for me to return to my companions, which I did so quickly, skirting around Lansra who had fallen to her knees, by this point, but continued to mutter her prayers as she had been this entire time. When I reached the other three, I came to a stop, rubbing my eyes tiredly.  


“What did you show them?” Petra whispered.  


“Later,” I muttered. “Let’s get our things from the Striders and head inside. I don’t like being out in the open with all of— _them_.”  


I nodded to the Nora behind me and the other three nodded in agreement. Just as I went to turn back to the trail, several figures approached us and I turned to them, instantly tensing for the worst.  


“We will go with you,” Sona said, coming to a stop at the head of the small group containing Lansra and two of the Brave guards, but notably not Varl.  


I glanced at Lansra with hesitation before Sona leaned in closer to me, speaking softly.  


“She will be the greatest advocate for you with the rest of the people in Mother’s Watch.”  


I knew that, deep down, but that didn’t mean I was looking forward to what would happen. With a sigh, I simply nodded and Sona turned toward the trail.  


“Come, we will lead you in.”  


As we descended the trail back into the Nora settlement, I tried to brace myself for what was about to come, but truthfully, it was almost impossible when I didn’t even know exactly what that would be. Finally, we reached the base of the trail and the closest Nora to it spotted the High Matriarch just behind Sona and quickly moved aside, giving the party room to pass.  


“Gathered Nora, listen!” Lansra called, her voice somehow still able to carry over the still massive crowd. “I come with news and a proclamation!”  


As Lansra gave her speech similar to what she had said at the entrance to the mountain, I watched the faces of the crowd change and contort into various expressions, ranging from disbelief to shock to awe to… something else I couldn’t place. Finally, however, she seemed to be coming to an end as she clasped her hands over her head.  


“Nora faithful, join me in asking her forgiveness, and through her the forgiveness of All Mother!”  


With that, she suddenly spun toward me and dropped to her knees, once again, bowing low before me. My eyes widened as the crowd behind her began to mimic her actions, until the entire courtyard of people had suddenly dropped to their knees, some bowing as Lansra had, while others simply clasping their hands before them and bowing their heads.  


A tight feeling appeared in my throat and chest as I stared out at them for several moments before turning to my companions, but their expressions seemed to reflect how I felt, as well. When I finally turned back to the crowd, I swallowed thickly before beginning to walk forward, waving for the other three to follow me. As I began to step through the crowd, the people began to get to their feet, but move aside, clearing a path. Each of them muttered something as I passed, but they all seemed to blur together.  


“Truly the Annointed…”  


“If what she says is true…”  


“Forgive us…”  


“Help our people…”  


I began to pick up my pace until I was weaving between the kneeling figures, only glancing at them long enough to make sure that I didn’t accidentally run into anyone. As I drew near the gate, I realized that it was already open, but I couldn’t remember hearing it move on the approach.  


Didn’t matter, just needed to get through it.  


As I stepped outside, I let out a heavy sigh, running my hands vigorously over my face and back over my hair. When I lowered my arms, once again, I could see how my hands visibly shook and I quickly clenched them into fists.  


“That was… something…” Erend muttered quietly.  


“Yeah, tell me about it,” I grumbled, quickly approaching the Striders nearby and reaching for my bags.  


The others followed suit a moment later, until we held our supplies over our shoulders and in our hands. With a heavy sigh, I glanced around at the others.  


“So… time to head back through.”  


“Are you ready?” Talanah asked, her lips pulled into a slight frown as she scanned my face.  


With a heavy sigh, I nodded.  


“As much as I’ll ever be.”  


I turned to start walking back toward the gate, shifting the bag over my left shoulder slightly.  


“Let’s just get this over with.”  


The journey back through the crowd was not quite as bad as before, as most everyone had gotten to their feet, and I no longer had to worry about accidentally kicking someone in the face as I passed, but they still stood rather close together, only moving to form a path as I approached. The voices had grown louder, but the words had become even more indistinguishable. I tried not to focus on them as I made my way back to Sona, Lansra, and the Braves at the bottom of the path to the mountain.  


“Do you have what you need?” the war chief asked as we approached.  


“We have what we brought, at least,” I sighed. “Let’s head back up.”  


She nodded and turned to lead the way. We followed closely behind her, while I heard Lansra’s voice continue from behind and assumed she must also be following. When we reached the top of the trail, we found the Braves talking to Jezza at the entrance to the causeway, and I frowned slightly. Their faces did not look particularly happy, but at least none of them quite conveyed murderous intent, either.  


When we finally reached the group, the Braves separated from their cluster, slightly, but continued to eye my group and me warily, although their gazes lingered on Erend, Petra, and Talanah the most.  


“Are you ready?” Jezza asked, looking to me.  


“Yes, I think we have what we need, for now.”  


She nodded before clearing her throat.  


“Although your purpose serves the divinity of the All Mother, I must still ask that we utter a blessing upon your companions, as they still come from beyond the Sacred Lands.”  


My jaw worked in irritation, but I nodded, stepping aside.  


Jezza stepped forward, and Lansra soon joined her, both of them raising their hands, palms up, toward the sky.  


“All Mother, here our prayer. We ask that you understand the purpose of your daughter, and that even those who come from beyond our lands enter this most sacred home of yours, they bring no ill will. We ask for your understanding, and that you guide and protect them, as it is commanded by your blood, the Annointed.”  


They closed their eyes for a moment or two before taking deep breaths and lowering their arms. A moment later, they stepped forward and went to Erend, Petra, and Talanah individually, quietly muttering a phrase that I couldn’t quite make out. When they had finished, the stepped back and turned to me.  


“Shall we head inside?”  


I nodded quickly and they turned to lead the way into the tunnel. With a quick glance at my companions, who looked somewhat apprehensive and unnerved by what had just happened, I followed after the Matriarchs. As soon as we stepped inside the tunnel, I glanced back to see the other three looking around in awe and wonder. Talanah met my gaze with a slight smirk before moving so she walked beside me.  


“This is starting to feel familiar,” she whispered.  


“Just you wait,” I replied.  


She raised her eyebrows slightly but I simply grinned and remained silent. When we reached the bottom of the main passageway, Jessa moved to the right side of the first large door, waving her hand over the lock to an electronic chime. A moment later, the metal portal slid aside, revealing the even more candle-laden room beyond.  


As we stepped into the center of the large, round room with the still appendage of a long-dead machine still hanging from the ceiling, I heard Petra let out an audible gasp.  


“By the forge, it nearly got this far?”  


“Almost,” I said, glancing up at the piece of the ancient machine.  


“And it didn’t come to life with the others the Eclipse raised?”  


“Thankfully.”  


We exchanged glances as her lips pulled into a thin line.  


“Aye, thankfully.”  


The Matriarchs came to a stop beside the short set of stairs that led to the metal pad before the main door to the facility, clasping their hands before them as they waited for us to approach. I paused for a moment before the stairs, glancing at the elder women before also turning to look over my shoulder at my companions. They all gave encouraging nods and I took a deep breath before ascending onto the platform.  


“Hold for identiscan.”  


The familiar, synthetic voice chimed as the red light formed at the top of the door and shot forward, scanning over me in a wave.  


“Genetic identity confirmed. Welcome, Doctor Elisabet Sobeck.”  


A shiver ran down my spine before the door suddenly shifted with a loud, metallic clunk, and began to slide open. The blue and purple lighting from inside immediately shown through the gap, filling the relatively dark room where we stood. I turned to my companions, and nodded toward the opening behind me.  


“Come inside.”  


They all seemed to hesitate for a moment, but Talanah snapped out of it first and hopped up the short set of stairs, standing beside me before offering a smirk as I began to lead the way into the facility beyond. As we passed between the small barricades just inside, I glanced back to make sure Erend and Petra had actually followed, but recoiled as Petra nearly ran into me.  


“What’d you stop for?”  


“You.”  


“Why?”  


“To make sure you picked your jaw off the floor and started walking.”  


She rolled her eyes and clapped me on the shoulder as I grinned, but moved farther into the facility. As we stepped into the main entryway, we came to a stop, glancing back as the door slid closed behind us. Once it had firmly locked into place, once again, the others slowly began to look about the room.  


“You weren’t lying, Aloy,” Petra nodded. “This is… incredible.”  


“This is just the front door,” I replied. “You should see the rest of it.”  


“Please.”  


I laughed before turning and leading the way out of the first room and down the staircase to our left. As we stepped onto the curved walkway, the other three quickly moved over to the railing, staring in awe at the massive facility below us, along with the rows upon rows of workstations originally intended to educate the new humans before they entered the world.  


If only they had been able to learn any of it.  


If only a lot of things had happened.  


If only a lot of things hadn’t happened.  


“What was this place?” Petra asked, turning to look back at me.  


I glanced to Talanah, who looked to me expectantly.  


I guess this was going to be the first truth they were going to learn.  


“It was a place where the first people were born, after the fall of the Old Ones… and me.”  


Erend turned to look back at me, as well, both of them seeming incredibly confused.  


“You? What do you mean?”  


I sighed heavily, shifting my weight on my feet slightly.  


“I was born here… not of a woman. That’s why… why the Nora say I’m ‘of the Goddess.’”  


They exchanged glances and for a moment I expected them to start laughing, but Erend cleared his throat and turned back to me.  


“That’s a lot to just put out there, Aloy,” he said.  


“Can you show us?”  


I looked to Petra with surprise at how quickly she had spoken.  


“I mean… in this facility… how that could happen.”  


I glanced between them all for a moment before nodding and turning to move toward the first door along the curved walkway.  


“This way.”  


As we stepped into the room with the artificial wombs, I heard three sets of surprised gasps behind me and turned to continue walking backward.  


“These… they can’t be…” Petra muttered, approaching the first machine inside the door and gently laying her hand on the glass tube.  


“They are,” I nodded. “Artificial wombs.”  


Erend shook his head, rubbing at his temples.  


“This… the Old Ones could even create life from nothing?”  


“Not exactly nothing, no,” I explained. “You still needed the—information—of a person, but this basically skipped all of the need for a person to actually carry the child and give birth.”  


“And skipped the fun part, too.”  


We all turned to look at Petra as she flashed a devilish grin at the rest of us.  


“Am I wrong?”  


I rolled my eyes as I heard Erend sigh and Talanah snicker.  


“So… this is where you came from?” Petra continued, patting the side of the machine.  


“Yes.”  


“While a revelation on its own,” she nodded in response, “I can’t help but think back to that door a few moments ago, as well.”  


I raised my eyebrows slightly as I felt my palms turn cold and clammy.  


“It called you by another name,” she continued. “When you talk about needing the ‘information’ of a person… where did yours come from?”  


I blinked back in stunned silence. That had been shockingly on the nose.  


“From someone who came before.”  


I didn’t dare look at Erend, as I could feel his gaze burning into me.  


“That… Elisa-something?”  


I nodded.  


“Elisabet Sobeck.”  


“So that makes you… her daughter?”  


A strange twinge passed through my chest as I swallowed against the hard lump that appeared in my throat.  


“Not exactly.”  


Silence fell over us for several long moments before Erend finally cleared his throat.  


“So what does that make you, then?”  


The words sent a shiver down my spine as part of me wanted to curl up and hide away from them. They could carry so many different feelings and meanings… but when I finally looked to his face, I only found what seemed to be genuine curiosity.  


“Let me show you what I showed the Matriarchs… that may help.”  


I pulled my Focus from beside my ear before reaching into the pouch at my belt and retrieving the Scorcher lens.  


“Hey, that’s the one I bought in Daytower!” Petra scoffed. “When did you pilfer that, huh?”  


I smirked.  


“Wouldn’t you like to know?”  


She let out a huff as she waved dismissively, but made no immediate move to take it back, so I placed it over the Focus on the floor.  


“Show me your message, All Mother.”  


The Focus lit up, once again, and the image of GAIA towered over us. I barely listened as the message replayed, but kept my gaze focused on the other three. Talanah watched with attention, but she had already heard it, once, so her reaction was much tamer than it had been, before. The other two, however, stared in near slack-jawed silence until the message concluded and the room fell silent, once again.  


I slowly retrieved the Focus and lens from the floor, slipping the device beside my ear before offering the piece of metal and glass back to Petra. She continued to stare at me in silence for several long moments before she blinked and took the offered part, moving as if in a trance.  


“That… who was that?” Erend finally asked, breaking the silence.  


“That was an AI—a machine mind—that was in charge of making sure the world healed after the Old Ones.”  


“Healed from what?”  


I sighed, shifting my bags’ weight slightly against the rising soreness in my shoulder.  


“There’s a lot to tell you both.”  


“Both?” Petra repeated, raising one eyebrow. “So Talanah already knows?”  


They glanced over at her and she jumped slightly at the sudden attention, but nodded.  


“I found out in Sunfall… or under it, rather.”  


Petra shook her head as she laughed quietly, eventually looking back over at me.  


“You’ve got a lot to catch us up on, then.”  


I nodded, my lips pulling into a thin line.  


“I will. Let’s set up our things and we can begin.”

  


  


  


It was hard to fall asleep on the floor of an ancient ruin, with the distant sounds of water dripping and occasionally something falling sounding like someone sneaking up on us, or perhaps a vengeful ghost from the past. The cold, stiff floor beneath the bedroll didn’t help much, either.  


I lay on my back, staring up at the metal ceiling bathed in the strange blue and purple lights that seemed to fill every ruin, my hands folded over my stomach. Despite how little energy seemed to remain in my limbs, my eyes did not want to slide closed and stay there.  


For the thousandth time, I took a deep breath in through my nose and rolled onto my side, staring blankly at the outline of Talanah in her bedroll beside mine for a few moments until I forced my eyes closed and tried to think back on any old techniques I could remember for making myself slow my mind and allow me to actually drift off into sleep.  


Counting slowly in my head worked for all of a few seconds, it seemed, before a much louder skittering and scuffling sounded from nearby and my eyes instantly shot open. This wasn’t somewhere deep in the ruins, but mere yards away.  


I lay as still as possible, listening intently for it to come again, only for it to sound even louder, prompting me to sit bolt upright. My eyes scanned the half-darkness intently for several moments, looking for signs of motion that might give away what had made the sound. Just as my hand reached toward my Focus, I caught sight of something near the doorway to the control room.  


I squinted slightly toward it, but couldn’t make anything out against the metal surface. After a few moments, however, I quickly realized that something else was off: the door was open. I instinctually reached for my bow beside my bedroll, drawing it into my lap before grabbing an arrow from the quiver beside it.  


I carefully got to my knees, eyes locked on the open doorway, before nocking the arrow to the bow and holding it half-ready. The sounds from before came again, this time clearly coming from outside the door, and I thought I almost caught what could have been a voice. It was high-pitched and soft, and I tried to convince myself it was actually just a rat, but something prevented me from totally believing that.  


I quickly got to my feet and held my bow at the ready, once again, as I made my way toward the open doorway. As I came to a stop in the opening, I slid up against the wall to the left, leaning around the corner to try to see if whatever had been making the sounds was visible from here. As my eyes swept over the walkway outside, I almost missed something up against the railing that looked over the center of the room until it suddenly moved.  


I instinctually lifted my bow, drawing the arrow back fully as I stepped into the opening, my heart pounding in my ears as I stared down the metal tip at what had drawn my attention. It took me several seconds to realize just what had moved, but when my brain finally processed it, I found myself slowly lowering the bow.  


A small child stood in front of the railing, staring back at me with widened eyes.  


“I’m sorry,” she said.  


I remained still in stunned silence, part of me wondering how this was possible while the other part of me screamed that it couldn’t be real.  


“Did I wake you up?”  


I found myself nodding dumbly as the little girl kicked her feet at some rocks on the ground.  


“I couldn’t sleep.”  


“Me neither.”  


Wait, what?  


Why did I say that?  


“Bad dreams?”  


I found myself shrugging, even as I tried to force myself to stand still.  


“I don’t know.”  


“This is a weird place,” the little girl said, looking around at the walkway.  


“It’s an old place.”  


“I was told not to come into places like this.”  


“Why’s that?”  


“Rost doesn’t like them.”  


The hair on the back of my neck stood up straight as I felt my knees buckle slightly.  


This couldn’t be happening.  


The redheaded little girl…  


“He says they’re ‘evil’ or something.”  


My mouth hung open, but no words came to me.  


“You don’t look so evil, though.”  


This wasn’t real.  


She wasn’t me.  


I wasn’t her.  


This was—  


“You look kind of like me.”  


An uncontrollable laugh escaped me as I slowly stepped forward, approaching the little girl until I crouched down before her, staring back into her wide, green-brown hazel eyes.  


“I think I am you.”  


“That’s not right,” she said, laughing.  


“If you only knew…”  


“You sure you’re not like—my long lost big sister or something?”  


A smile cracked my features as I shook my head.  


“I don’t think so.”  


“My mother?”  


My jaw clenched tightly as I looked down at the floor for a moment before shaking my head.  


“No, I don’t think I am.”  


“Well, we can still be friends, right?”  


I looked back up at her as I nodded slowly.  


“Yeah, sure.”  


Just then, a booming voice called out from nearby and I froze stiff, my eyes widening as my hands clenched around the bow and arrow in my hands, still.  


“Aloy! Get away from there!”  


The little girl whirled around as I began to rise to a standing position. A hulking figure seemed to materialize from the semi-darkness of the walkway ahead, but as he did, something violently tugged at my chest and a choked whimper escaped my lips. The man who approached was tall and broad, with a large beard and a thick, boar-skin cloak… well, what remained of them, anyway. The entire right side of his face was blackened and seemingly burned almost down to the skull beneath, the right eye seeming relatively loose in its socket, as well as incredibly unseeing.  


“She is an impostor,” the walking corpse of Rost said, his good eye burning into me. “She wears a familiar skin, but she is not who she seems.”  


“No, Rost, she’s a friend!”  


“Aloy, she is not to be trusted. Now get away from her!”  


“Watch what you say about my daughter, you crispy-fried bastard.”  


The second voice nearly brought my heart to a stop, even more than the image and voice of Rost. My lower lip began to tremble slightly as I slowly turned in place until I was looking back toward the door into the control room. A woman with fiery red hair that came to just below her shoulders stood defiantly in the center of the doorway, her arms folded tightly over her chest. Blood ran down the left side of her face from several large cuts filled with shards of glass, including one in her eye, and the side of her white sweatshirt was stained bright vermilion, but it was the most alive I had seen her in… I couldn’t remember.  


“She should know better,” Rost barked in response, but I didn’t turn back to him. “She corrupted her, the girl I raised, when she was older… and now you would let her do it again, even here?”  


“The girl you raised was not yours,” Miriam snapped, making her way down the steps, despite the shakiness in her walk by her apparently broken left ankle.  


“The girl I raised is Aloy,” Rost replied. “The woman who stands before us now is _not_ her.”  


My chest heaved as the redhead approached me, stopping just before me to offer a genuine smile, even as the blood trail from her eye ran over her lip and into her mouth.  


“Hey, kiddo.”  


“M-mom…”  


“She admits it.”  


“She is something neither of us could control,” Miriam suddenly spat, turning from me as her face contorted in anger, once again. “She is a product of unfortunate circumstance and decisions beyond her control.”  


“And yet, this person who stands before us… she is not neither of them, nor is she truly a combination… and we all know this.”  


“That does not give you a reason to treat her as an abomination.”  


“If I had known…”  


“If you had known what? And what would you do?”  


Suddenly, I pressed my hands over my ears as I shook my head violently.  


“Stop!”  


When the world stopped spinning before me, all of the figures were gone from the walkway, but a new one had taken their place. My eyes trained on her as my jaw clenched and my chest heaved.  


“You… _bitch_.”  


“I’ve got lots of time on my hands, and I figured you needed a reminder.”  


I angrily talked toward the young redhead, drawing within inches of her before coming to a stop.  


“What we’re trying to do here—”  


“ _We_?” she interrupted, laughing. “I already told you before: it’s not _we_. It’s _you_.”  


“I can’t help that you don’t understand—”  


“I _understand_!” the redhead growled, placing her hands in the center of my chest and shoving me backward.  


I staggered for a few feet but managed to catch myself before I fell.  


“What Ted and ‘evil you’ said before you came in here is true,” she spat.  


My jaw clenched as I suddenly charged forward, letting out something akin to a battle cry as I lowered my shoulder and barreled into the girl’s chest. It was enough to take her by surprise and we both staggered down the walkway for several feet before she tripped on something and we both were sent tumbling to the floor.  


As soon as we landed, I felt myself being thrown to the left, and as my back at the floor, something heavy landed atop my shoulders and across my hips. After a few forceful blinks, I found the same face staring back at me, but it was framed by a different hairstyle, no longer a cascade of braids but a single, long one, an expression that I could only think to call an evil grin curling her lips.  


“Well, that certainly hit a nerve.”  


Instead of replying, I simply gathered as much saliva as I could in my mouth before leaning my head forward and spitting it as forcefully as I could at her. The glob hit her square in the bridge of her nose, prompting her to recoil and close her eyes. She raised one hand from my shoulder to wipe the saliva away before sighing heavily.  


“And here I thought you were supposed to be the grown adult.”  


“Which means I don’t have to take your shit.”  


“Fine, but just know,” she sighed, suddenly leaning forward so her mouth was just beside my ear, “she and I have an understanding, now.”  


“You will never be either of us,” I spat.  


“True, but why do I have to be?” she replied, lifting herself over me, once again. “Maybe I’m the third option.”  


With a growl, I tried to press against her hold on my shoulders, only to find the weight instantly gone as I shot bolt upright into a seated position. My chest heaved as my head whipped back and forth, searching for any signs of other figures who wanted to make an appearance, but I quickly began to realize that I had changed locations, as well.  


The control room.  


Not the walkway.  


It had been a dream.  


Stop.  


Think.  


Breathe.  


“Keep telling myself that…”  


I rubbed at my eyes tiredly as I heard the sounds of motion to my right and I quickly glanced over to find Talanah rolling onto her back, her eyes half-open as she stared up at me blearily.  


“Okay, Aloy?” she mumbled.  


I nodded.  


“Yeah, just… couldn’t sleep.”  


She nodded, yawning as she wiped at her eyes, but began to sit up, as well.  


“No, you don’t have to—”  


“I remember the camp before we got here,” she interrupted. “I’ll stay up with you.”  


“You _don’t_ —”  


“But I’m going to.”  


Her voice had grown much more resolute as the grogginess faded, until now she sounded almost fully awake as she stared back at me, her expression intense.  


“I remember the camp, and I remember the ruins below Sunfall…”  


I sighed, hanging my head. A moment later, something tapped my shoulder and I looked back up at her, once again.  


“Come on, let’s take a walk.”  


As we strolled slowly through the walkways of the facility, Talanah remained thankfully silent, instead stopping to look at the various drawings on the walls above the APOLLO workstations. Each time she did, I found myself checking each direction along the walkway, half-expecting another figure to appear, but each time no such thing occurred. When we reached the part of the walkway the farthest from the control room, she turned to the railing overlooking the center of the main room and came to a stop, leaning against it.  


“Like I said, I remember Sunfall,” she sighed. “Aloy, is everything okay?”  


I sighed heavily, folding my arms over my chest and leaning back against the railing beside her.  


“It’s not like Sunfall,” I finally said.  


“Then what is it?”  


“Just… general stress and anxiety,” I sighed.  


“About the Nora, still?”  


“Not necessarily. About… here.”  


Talanah straightened up, turning to face me as she folded her arms over her chest and leaned her hip against the railing.  


“I guess you have two reasons to have—memories, I guess—of here.”  


Momentary panic came over me before the conversation on the couch in the Meridian apartment came back to me and realization dawned on me.  


She remembered more than I gave her credit for.  


“Yeah, you could say that.”  


“I am.”  


I gave her an admonishing look as she grinned and shifted her position again, turning so she leaned back against the railing, as I did, but placed her hands to either side of her on it.  


“Do you think every night here is going to be like this?”  


“I certainly hope not.”  


I closed my eyes and tilted my head forward until my chin almost touched my chest, breathing slowly in through my nose.  


“It would completely defeat all purpose of coming here if I can’t function due to a lack of sleep.”  


Something touched my left arm and I jumped slightly, my eyes shooting open as I glanced over to find Talanah pulling her hand away.  


“Sorry,” she said, “I just… you’re putting a lot of pressure on yourself.”  


For a moment, her image flickered, replaced with a similar woman, but with shorter hair, and a strange twinge in my chest brought a lump to my throat that refused to be swallowed down.  


“You brought us here with you, this time,” she said softly. “We want to help.”  


Finally, I regained the ability to speak as I nodded.  


“I know.”  


“So let us.”  


She placed her hand on my arm, once again, and this time I didn’t react quite so suddenly or violently.  


“Also, I only brought so many of those—uh, _sleep aids_ —so I can’t offer them every night.”  


I stared back at her for several long moments before we both laughed. When we had calmed down, once again, I realized that her hand was still on my upper arm, and I glanced over at her, again. She seemed to notice, as well, and offered an awkward smile before squeezing my arm gently and pulling her hand away, folding her arms over her chest.  


“Yeah, so… yeah.”  


“I get it,” I replied, offering her a small smile. “Thanks.”  


She returned it with one of her own for a second or two before a deep yawn overtook her and mine turned to a smirk.  


“I’ve kept you up long enough,” I said, nodding back toward the control room. “We both need sleep.”  


Talanah muttered something incomprehensible as she waived dismissively, but pushed herself off the railing to follow back the way we came. When we got to our bedrolls, she began to dig in the bag beside hers, but I quickly tapped her on the shoulder.  


“I don’t need any, thanks.”  


She glanced back at me, raising her eyebrows slightly.  


“Sure?”  


“Sure.”  


With a nod, she put her bag down and fell onto her back, letting out a heavy sigh as she pulled her blanket over herself, once again. I began to follow suit, but as I turned in place on my bedroll, I happened to catch something in the doorway and paused for a moment. The small, redheaded girl stood in it, watching me with an unreadable expression. My lips pulled into a thin line as I turned my attention away from her and laid on my back, adjusting my position slightly until the stiff line across the middle of it bothered me least, and closed my eyes.  


No sleep was going to do no good.  


My time for rest was over, for now.  


Back to the grind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we go.


	13. Reconstruction

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back, y'all.
> 
> I know what the title might imply, but let me say this for now: soon.
> 
> Very soon.
> 
> Also, see if you can catch all of my stupid movie references throughout!
> 
> Enjoy!

“Useless piece of scrap, you dare… dammit!”  


I recoiled slightly at Petra’s outburst as she shook her right hand for a moment before sticking her middle and index fingers in her mouth.  


“Are you okay?” I asked, wiping at the sheen of sweat across my brow with the back of my hand.  


“Just a little shock, that’s all,” she muttered around her fingers.  


“You sure?”  


She removed her fingers from her mouth and shook her hand again, nodding.  


“Not any worse than a Stormbringer backfire,” she sighed. “I’ll be fine, Little Spark, don’t you worry.”  


I gave her an admonishing look and she laughed, but gave me a playful punch to the shoulder.  


“You didn’t break it, though, did you?’  


She scoffed and delivered a slightly stronger punch to my shoulder, prompting me to wince.  


“You’re really trying to start a fight, this time.”  


I rolled my eyes, but quickly blinked as sweat dripped into them and I winced, quickly rubbing the back of my hands into them, but it did little to help as they were also coated in sweat, by this point. When I was finally able to see, once again, I found Petra pulling on a pair of thick, leather gloves before clapping her hands together.  


“All right, let’s try that again…”  


I watched her carefully press on the top half of the power cell we had found in one of the many vacant rooms throughout the facility, her touch surprisingly careful and slow, compared to the speed and recklessness I had seen her use when pounding other circuits and high-powered electrical components into place so far.  


Just as she was about to firmly press the top half into place in the receptacle, she paused, glancing over at me.  


“This is the last one, right?”  


“Think so,” I nodded.  


“Well, here we go.”  


We both took a deep breath before she firmly pressed the power cell forward. The small, rectangular device snapped into place with a firm clunk, followed soon after by a cacophony of synthetic alarms sounding around us. Petra winced as I whirled around, noting how the lights on the various power banks had started to come to life, the flashing reds, yellows, and greens lighting up the cramped generator room in a strange bath of light and mixing colors.  


Petra and I finally met each other’s gazes, once again, as she raised her eyebrows.  


“That looks like we did something!” she shouted over the alarms.  


“I’d say so!” I called back. “We need to manually reboot the entire system, though!”  


“What?”  


“Follow me!”  


I turned and began to shimmy back along the narrow passageway between the enormous power generators toward the ladder we had descended earlier. As we reached the bottom, I glanced up to see a face peering over the top. Talanah’s lips moved, but it was impossible to hear whatever she was yelling over the sounds around us, and I shook my head, pointing to my ear before quickly taking hold of the ladder and beginning to climb.  


When I finally reached the top, I brushed my hands off on my leggings and stepped over to Talanah.  


“Did you fix it?” she asked loudly, her mouth inches from my ear.  


“Hope so,” I replied. “One way to find out.”  


As Petra climbed over the top of the ladder, I motioned for her to follow me over to a wide control panel set along the edge of the faded yellow railing that surrounded the platform. The lights on the console had come to life, like the ones beneath us, and I tried my best to wipe away more of the dust and debris without accidentally pressing any buttons.  


“What do we do with this?” Petra asked.  


“We hit the ‘start’ button.”  


She gave me a strange look and I smirked before tapping my Focus, bringing the interface to life and using it to scan over the console before me. Instantly, boxes identifying the functions appeared before me and I scanned over them until my eyes finally settled on a pair of large buttons in the center of the console, one red and one green.  


“To reset, hold Stop for five seconds, then press Engage”  


“Easy enough,” I muttered, reaching toward the red button. “Ready?”  


“If it will make this racket stop, yes!” Petra shouted.  


A smirk tugged at my lips as I glanced back at her and Talanah.  


“Here goes nothing.”  


With that, I pressed and held the red button. The alarms instantly stopped, leaving us in an eerie silence that only served to highlight the ringing in my ears. I counted slowly in my head until five seconds had passed before releasing the button and taking a deep breath.  


“Was that it?” Petra asked, rubbing her ears with a grimace.  


“Not quite yet,” I said, taking a deep breath. “One more.”  


They both looked to me as my thumb hovered over the green “Engage” button, although the marking had long since worn away.  


“Three… two… one…”  


With a deep breath, I jabbed the button forcefully, feeling it hit the bottom with a solid stop. I only held this one for a moment before releasing it. After several seconds where nothing happened, I began to worry that I was actually supposed to hold it, but a singular, blaring alarm suddenly split the air, causing all three of us to jump.  


A flashing, yellow light shone from above as the sounds of heavy machinery spinning up began to echo about the room. The whirring built to a climax before a heavy clunk sounded, and it stopped. Panic that it hadn’t worked began to set in for a moment, but the whirring began to build again. The process continued to repeat, but I noticed that each time it seemed to happen a little faster, and I also began to hear a kind of crackling that followed the heavy clunking sounds.  


The sounds began to accelerate faster and faster until the process had turned into a constant thrumming that echoed about the room. The alarm stopped blaring, only for a synthetic voice to immediately replace it.  


“Main power has been restored. Generators are operating at 50% capacity. Please proceed with caution before rebooting other systems.”  


The three of us stood completely still for several long moments before we all turned to face each other, the same wide-eyed expressions on our faces.  


“We did it…” Talanah muttered, just barely loud enough to be heard over the sound of the generators.  


“We did it!” Petra shrieked, pumping her fists in the air and laughing loudly.  


An uncontrollable grin split my lips as Petra quickly pulled Talanah and me into a tight group hug, which we attempted to return, but with somewhat less strength. When she finally released all of us, Talanah shook her arms to either side, making a face.  


“You two are disgustingly sweaty,” she said.  


“A sign of a job well done,” Petra laughed, wiping the sweat from her brow and flinging it to her side. “What’s next, Flame Hair?”  


“We head back up, first,” I said, pointing toward the ceiling.  


“I could get out of the noise for a bit,” Petra nodded.  


With that, I collected the fur tunic and skirt that I had ditched shortly after we had entered the generator room, while Petra grabbed her heavy, leather apron, and we pulled them back on, despite the wave of unbearable heat that rolled over me as they fell into place. It was easier than carrying them, though. Once we were fully dressed, we moved toward the empty elevator shaft we had used to enter the room. The emergency ladder on the wall to our right was still intact and stable, so we used it to return to the upper floor, as well.  


The climb was nearly as long as the one Talanah and I had been forced to make to exit the Zero Dawn facility, but I found myself becoming tired far more quickly, especially after the work we had just done. As I was going first, however, I forced myself to press on, not wanting to hear the complaints from the other two below me. When I finally came within reach of the open doorway we had entered from an hour or two ago, a hand suddenly appeared over the edge and I nearly slipped off the ladder.  


“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare ya,” Erend said, laughing.  


“You could at least say something before suddenly throwing your hand in my face,” I huffed, climbing farther until I was level with the landing and hopping from the ladder to the open doorway. “That would have been a long fall.”  


“Sorry,” he muttered, averting his gaze from meeting mine as he rubbed the back of his head.  


I sighed, running my hands back over my hair before shaking my head and feeling the droplets of sweat spray everywhere.  


“Don’t… don’t worry about it,” I said. “Just scared the shit out of me, y’know?”  


He gave me an odd look but nodded.  


“I’ll try to be less stealthy, next time.”  


We both laughed as Talanah stepped onto the landing behind me, letting out a heavy sigh.  


“Can we not climb another thousand-foot ladder again today, please?”  


I smirked as she shook her hands to either side of her.  


“Thought I was gonna slip off a few times, myself,” Petra added, stepping onto the landing, as well. “Anything happen up here while we were gone?”  


“Well, stuff started to light up and this strange voice started speaking,” Erend replied, glancing down the hallway toward the main room of the facility.  


“Sounds like it really did work, then,” I nodded.  


“So, this place is fully functioning, now?” he asked, turning back to us.  


“It’s getting there,” I sighed. “We can start doing the less manual labor-intensive parts, now.”  


“Great, so I can take a nap,” Petra sighed, reaching up to undo the fabric net she had used to hold her hair back out of her face and shaking her head.  


Talanah flinched away from her as the droplets of sweat inevitably hit her and I grinned.  


“Yeah, let’s take a quick break.”  


As we entered the main room of the ELEUTHIA facility, I immediately noticed how the workstations on the lower levels now showed different displays, rather than the previous FARO logo that had remained in place ever since the first time I had visited. I frowned slightly as I led the way along the walkway toward the top row of workstations and stopped at the first one. The display now showed multiple lines of text that seemed like complete nonsense at first, but as I scanned through it, I realized that it must have been the system trying to fix itself, as well.  


“What happened to all of these?” Erend asked, examining the one across from me.  


“I think it’s part of the facility trying to fix itself,” I replied.  


“That’s… a good thing, right?”  


“Right, but it’s not going to be able to until those drives Talanah and I found are loaded.”  


“And how do we do that?”  


I sighed, turning from the workstation to look back at the others.  


“Very slowly.”  


We continued along the walkway until we reached the door to the main control room and stepped inside. Immediately, the first thing I noticed was how the various consoles and screens had sprung to life, although like the workstations outside, they didn’t display much of anything other than lines and lines of text.  


A tingling feeling appeared in the tips of my fingers as my heart began to race and I immediately made my way over to the larger console underneath the large window at the head of the room. I wiped away more of the dust and debris, coughing at how much was kicked into the air, but eventually I had cleared it enough to actually see and use the console beneath.  


“You going to get started with that, right now?” Talanah asked.  


“In a little bit,” I replied, glancing over my shoulder with a smirk, “but first…”  


I tapped my Focus, bringing up the interface, which immediately began to scan over the console, as it had with the one in the generator room. Finally, when I had located the function I wanted, I stepped over to the right side. I quickly flipped a red cover from over the first in a series of four switches and pulled the switch, itself, down for a few seconds before flipping it back up. An electronic chime sounded, and I took a deep breath before doing the same to the other three. When all four had been completed, the synthetic voice sounded from overhead.  


“Generators operating at 57% capacity. Life support systems are available in a reduced capacity.”  


Didn’t need all of them, just one for right now.  


Beside the series of switches, there were two columns of buttons, one green and one red, although the labels of each had long since faded away. My Focus filled in the names, however, as I scanned over each one, until I moved my finger over the green button fourth from the top.  


“And let there be… light.”  


I jabbed the button and an electronic chime sounded in confirmation.  


“Lighting system has sustained damage and some sections of the facility may be compromised, but is overall functional. Please provide clearance to proceed.”  


Another electronic chime sounded and silence followed for a moment or two before I cleared my throat.  


“Elisabet Sobeck, Alpha Prime. Proceed.”  


A chime in confirmation sounded before the synthetic voice returned.  


“Clearance accepted. Rebooting lighting system.”  


For a few seconds, nothing happened, and I began to wonder if perhaps “some sections” actually meant “most of the sections” were damaged, but I noticed something in the main room of the facility through the large window before me. A glow seemed to be forming at the bottom, emanating from something on the lower floors, and I quickly moved over to the glass, attempting to see as far down as I could.  


A white glow was slowly growing closer, travelling up the cylindrical structure, floor by floor. My eyes widened slightly as the corners of my lips began to pull back in a smile. A few moments later, the glow had reached the floor of the workstations right beneath us and I heard someone behind me let out a gasp. Suddenly, the world around me ignited in white light and I jumped in surprise, but quickly spun around, looking toward the ceiling. At least six or seven bright, white spots now shone from the metal surface, lighting up the room well enough to overtake much of the blue and purple lighting from the low-powered consoles and emergency lighting that we had grown used to in the past week or so.  


I looked back down at the other three to see them looking around as well, squinting slightly as they glanced up at the lights before moving toward me and the window, looking out over the rest of the facility, as well.  


“It… looks so different all lit up,” Talanah said softly, her eyes wide as she stared through the glass, entranced.  


“You can really see how well this place held together,” Petra remarked, leaning forward and placing her forehead against the glass as she tried to look toward the lower floors.  


“This is what the Old Ones used to live in?” Erend asked, although he continued to stare out at the facility, as well.  


“Sometimes,” I replied, anyway, “and especially at… at the end.”  


He finally turned toward me, his lips pulled into a thin line.  


The aftermath of that conversation was still being felt a week later, and I winced slightly as I tried not to meet his gaze. Erend had been the most reluctant to believe what I had to show about the Old Ones and the fall of society, but with each passing day we spent in the semi-ruins of the ELEUTHIA facility, I sensed he was coming to accept it more and more.  


It was a lot to take in, telling someone that the world died once, already, and somehow came back to life.  


“Well, this will make our lives easier,” Petra sighed, pushing away from the glass. “Now we can actually see what we’re doing, half the time.”  


“Right,” I nodded.  


“You need me for anything, or can I take that nap I was promised?” she asked, turning to me with a grin.  


“Go,” I laughed, nodding toward our bedrolls, still set up on the far side of the control room.  


Petra nodded, as well, patting me on the shoulder as she turned away.  


“I don’t know how you do this all, Aloy, but… color me impressed.”  


I gave her a small smile as her hand slid from my shoulder and she made her way toward the bedrolls. With a sigh, I turned back to the glass and the other two. Talanah was still staring out at the facility, her arms folded against the glass while her forehead rested against them, and Erend stood with his back to it, his arms folded over his chest.  


“So, you said the next part had to do with those drives,” he said.  


I nodded, stepping up to the glass with my arms folded over my chest, as well.  


“And how do we do that?” she asked quickly, turning her head toward me, but remaining otherwise in the same position as before.  


“Slowly, unfortunately,” I replied. “Once I make sure that the ‘brain’ of the facility is working, too, I can use my Focus, or a Focus at least, to link it to the drives and start transferring everything over.”  


Both of them stared back at me with blank expressions and I glanced between them for a moment before laughing.  


“That’s my job, so don’t worry,” I said.  


“So what can we do, in the meantime?”  


“Take a break, too,” I shrugged. “We’ve been going all out for a week… we’ve all earned it.”  


Erend nodded slowly as I caught an unreadable expression pass over Talanah’s face.  


“We’re running low on water, again, and food,” he said. “We can head out to get some while you work on—whatever it was you said you were going to do.”  


I nodded, as well.  


“Sounds like a plan.”  


With that, Erend pushed away from the window, moving toward the bedrolls and the rest of our supplies, in general. Talanah, however, remained at the window, but turned so that her shoulder was resting against it and she faced me directly.  


“You need a bath.”  


I blinked in surprise.  


“What?”  


“You and Petra both,” she grinned. “I can already smell you from here.”  


I gave her an admonishing look and she simply smirked.  


“I’m only telling the truth… and doing it for everyone’s own good.”  


I rolled my eyes and shoved her playfully, but she had a point. Sweat still dripped down the back of my neck and beneath my clothing, and I shivered at the disgusting feeling of it all.  


What I wouldn’t kill for one of the showers to be working…  


I suddenly had an idea and stepped around her to the console, bringing my Focus to life, once again, as I scanned over the various buttons and functions on it.  


“Uh… what are you doing?”  


“Hold on,” I muttered, holding one finger up toward her as I continued to study the various functions and the readouts.  


Finally, I pressed the green button several rows beneath the one for the lights to another synthetic chime.  


“Internal plumbing systems 87% intact, however connection to mainline water source has been damaged and is currently inoperable.”  


“Oh, come on!”  


I threw my hands into the air as I let out a growl of frustration, spinning on my heel to face Talanah. She recoiled slightly from my outburst, watching me warily.  


“What was that about?”  


“This facility used to have running water,” I sighed, “but as you heard, it’s damaged, so it’s not going to work.”  


“Can we fix it like we did with the lights and the power?”  


“Probably not,” I said, shaking my head. “We would need to replace a long section of metal pipe that connected everything to—I don’t know—some kind of underground spring or a river or something. There’s the chance that whatever it was originally connected to isn’t there, anymore, too.”  


She simply blinked in response and I grinned.  


“Basically it’s above what any of us are capable of doing, or knowing how to do, at this point.”  


She nodded in response, seemingly accepting that as good enough of an answer.  


“And we still need to get water and food from outside,” I continued.  


“And—”  


“If you try to take another jab at how I smell after working to fix this whole place, I’m going to hit you.”  


Talanah smirked, but fell silent.  


“We can go for the supplies once I test if the main control system for this place is working, again.”  


She nodded and yawned before turning lazily on her heel toward the bedrolls.  


“I think I’ll copy Petra’s idea for a bit, then. Wake me up when you’re ready.”  


I made a sound in agreement as I began to turn back to the console, taking a deep breath. Beside the main section I had used so far stood a smaller, glass square that currently showed lines of text that appeared to be scrolling by at high speed. I frowned slightly as I approached, tapping the surface with two fingers.  


The screen went blank for a moment before a single line of text reappeared.  


“System has detected multiple file corruptions, reboot anyway?”  


I tapped the “Y” option beneath it and the screen went blank, once again. A clammy feeling began to appear on my palms as I held my breath, waiting for the screen to do something else. Finally, an electronic chime sounded and another message appeared.  


“Essential ELEUTHIA operating procedures are corrupted or missing. Please re-install before rebooting.”  


“Well wouldn’t you know,” I muttered, smirking as I turned to grab one of the bags on the ground beside the console.  


Once all of the drives had been removed and sorted along the floor at the bottom of the main console, I went to tap my Focus, but paused at the last second. After a moment’s hesitation, I turned and quickly made my back down to the rows of APOLLO workstations below the control room, swiping a Focus from one of the closest. When I returned to the control room, I removed my own Focus, placing it atop one of the stacks of drives, before slipping the new one beside my ear.  


The interface sprung to life around me, along with a large box in the center of my vision.  


“FARO Industries. Personal FOCUS device. Ver. 8.113.2.”  


“Spared at no expense,” I muttered, laughing dryly before swiping the message away.  


As the device had never been used, it forced me to navigate through a “startup” procedure that included registering my name, primary use, and other things that seemed like they also probably wouldn’t have been relevant to a child several hundred years ago just using one for the first time, either. When it finally let me use it normally, I crouched down and grabbed one of the ELEUTHIA drives.  


The Focus scanned it and immediately presented a box that tried to tell me what it was, so I swiped it away. In its place, a second box appeared, but this one was much more useful.  


“What would you like to do with this storage device?”  


Below the question were four different options, and I scanned through them quickly before tapping the third one.  


“Transfer files to a new device.”  


The box was quickly replaced by yet another new one.  


“Please specify new device.”  


I turned to the glass console beside the one I was crouched before and the familiar circle that slowly filled green appeared over it. Once it had filled completely, a new box appeared.  


“Server connection detected. Access?”  


I tapped the “Y” option again and the text was replaced with a slowly filling progress bar. For a few seconds, my shoulders sagged when I saw how slowly it was filling, only for it to shoot to almost completely full a moment later. The last little bit took a few more seconds, but it finally reached the end and the bar was replaced with more text.  


“Connection established. ELEUTHIA-9 facility recognized. Currently operations in low-power mode.”  


“Good enough for me,” I muttered, turning back to the box over the drive, which was still asking me to specify a device.  


I hit the “choose from available” option and waited until it had finished realizing that there was only one: ELEUTHIA-9.  


“Transfer to this network?”  


“Yes, please,” I muttered as I jabbed the button.  


“Files already detected. Do you wish to copy and replace, or copy a new file?”  


“Replace.”  


“Transfer beginning, estimated time to completion: 12 hours and 34 minutes.”  


“Oh come—” I started to growl, but caught myself at the last second and swallowed the rest of my insult, letting out a heavy sigh, instead. “Well, it’s a start.”  


With that, I opened the “options” tab on the box and selected “run when interface is closed” before removing the Focus from beside my ear and laying it atop the stack of ELEUTHIA drives, along with the first one I had been holding.  


When I had retrieved my original Focus and risen to my feet, I groaned softly, stretching my legs before turning to move back over to the bedrolls. Erend knelt a few feet away from them, taking stock of our bags of supplies, while Talanah and Petra both appeared to be asleep on their own bedrolls, but I quickly realized that Talanah had appropriated Erend’s on the far end, seemingly keeping herself as far away from Petra, as possible.  


I rolled my eyes but turned back to Erend as he glanced over his shoulder at me.  


“You done waving your hands about over there, magic woman?”  


I rolled my eyes as I playfully delivered a weak kick to his rear and he laughed.  


“I got the process started to fix the main ‘mind’ of this place,” I sighed, taking a seat beside him and crossing my legs before me. “It’s going to take a long time, though.”  


“Like, how long?”  


“Half a day for each of the three drives.”  


“That is a long time.”  


I let out a short laugh.  


“Gives us time to get more supplies and rest, though,” I replied.  


“I sense that you’re going to do one of those two things.”  


I gave him a look as he grinned.  


“Once we refill these, what’s the next thing we need to do in the meantime?” he asked.  


“Petra’s been eying those old Servitor bots,” I sighed. “Might be useful to see if we can get some up and running.”  


“Why, exactly?”  


“They can perform minor repairs and maintenance duties,” I shrugged. “Means we don’t have to spend all of our time fixing these lights or cleaning up all the junk and debris around here.”  


Erend nodded slowly, but I noticed how his eyes seemed to have glazed over as he stared vacantly at the ground before me.  


“What’s the matter?”  


He shook his head quickly, glancing back over at me.  


“I’ve seen those things,” he sighed. “They freak me out.”  


“Why?”  


“They’re… almost people,” he said, shivering, “but they’re not.”  


“It all depends on what is programmed into them, yeah.”  


He gave me a strange look and I tried to think of a way to explain.  


“Someone else has to tell them what to do, what to think, what to—feel, I guess,” I shrugged. “In the end, though, they’re machines, just like the Watchers and the Sawtooths and the Glinthawks…”  


“Machine people, with machine minds…”  


Another shiver ran through Erend as I also found a chill running down my spine.  


“When you put it that way…”  


He glanced over at me, grinning.  


“I’m just saying how it sounds to me.”  


“I mean… you’re not wrong, but…”  


I took a deep breath, running my hands through my hair and removing the tie that I had used to hold my braid together.  


“I just never thought of it that way.”  


Erend chuckled softly, glancing over at me.  


“Glad I could provide a new perspective, then.”  


A few minutes later, Erend had finished tallying up our supplies, and I had managed to shake as much sweat as I could out of my hair and retie it into a singular braid that I let hang over my right shoulder. With a sigh, he turned over to me, clapping his hands down on his legs with finality.  


“We need water, and probably some more substantial food than tree nuts, berries, and herbs.”  


“I think we could even celebrate a little,” I added.  


“For?”  


“For everything we’ve done this week,” I shrugged. “Yeah there’s a lot to do, but… we’re getting there.”  


He nodded slowly, glancing back at the other two.  


“Yeah, I guess we deserve it a bit.”  


We decided that we didn’t want to disturb the others while they slept, so Erend and I took it upon ourselves to head into Mother’s Watch on our own. The passageway outside the front door of the ELEUTHIA facility was thankfully empty, which allowed us to make our way to the exit in peace. As soon as we stepped outside, however, we both found ourselves blinking at the harsh sunlight, even as it was only setting.  


We had all come and gone a few times from the facility in the past week, but it was still a harsh adjustment to the world outside, whenever we did leave. The first thing I did each time was take a deep breath of the cold, almost-autumn, mountain air, and most of the tension that had built up in my limbs melted away.  


When we descended into the settlement, the Nora villagers who milled about eyed Erend warily for a moment, but quickly tried to hide their expressions when they noticed me beside him.  


It didn’t really work, but the effort was better than none, I suppose.  


We set out into the open grounds of the Embrace, where I had Erend try his best to hunt a turkey or a boar, but his aim with a bow was not quite as good as his strength with his hammer, so after a brief fit of laughter, I took it back from him and set about actually hunting our food. With two mid-sized turkeys in hand, and several large canteens full of river water, we returned to Mother’s Watch, where we traded some shards, desert glass, and smaller machine parts for some medicinal herbs, including some shockroot to help protect against any future electrical burns.  


By the time we had returned to the ELEUTHIA facility, Talanah and Petra were both awake, and seemed to be attempting to play a game involving small pieces of colored glass placed on the ground in patterns before them.  


“No, you just… you can move that to _here_ ,” Talanah was saying, pointing to one of the pieces and another spot on the ground, “or to _here_.”  


“How are you ever supposed to learn all these rules?” Petra shot back, sighing.  


“It’s simple, if you just think for a second.”  


“You lost me at ‘think.’”  


Talanah let out a growl of frustration as I smirked and approached, placing the two dead turkeys on the ground behind them. They glanced at them before looking up at me.  


“Dinner?” Petra asked.  


“Don’t look so sad.”  


“Oh no, you know… turkey’s my favorite…” she trailed off as I rolled my eyes.  


“I’m sorry we don’t have any pubs or inns to visit in Nora lands.”  


“No, no, I-I—”  


“But,” I interrupted, smirking, “there may be something I can scrounge up.”  


They all looked to me curiously as a smirk pulled at my lips.  


“I have one more trip outside I want to make,” I said.  


“To get what?”  


“A surprise.”  


“Like… a good surprise?”  


I rolled my eyes.  


“Yes. I think some celebration is in order after this week.”  


They tried to pressure me into explaining what I was looking for, but I coyly avoided the answers, only saying that I would be back in a little while. When they begrudgingly accepted that I wasn’t going to give them a straight answer, I gathered a few more of our bartering supplies and shoved them in the pouches on my belt.  


“Won’t be too long, now.”  


With that, I made my way back out of the facility. I didn’t spare a second glance at anyone in Mother’s Watch before heading back out into the Embrace. Bringing my Focus interface up quickly, I got my bearings and figured out the fastest path with the map function before closing it and moving toward the small herd of docile Striders. They had wandered a little ways from the front gate, but ultimately hadn’t gone too far, so it was easy enough to grab one of them and quickly set off along the dirt path that led straight away from the front gate of Mother’s Watch.  


After several minutes of riding, I brought the machine to a stop and quickly dismounted. Eying the small waterfall that trailed over the edge of the rock formation before me, I quickly set about scaling the mixture of natural and man-made handholds until I dragged myself over the top. A grin split my features as I found the small, natural spring empty, and I quickly moved over to its edge.  


Dipping a hand in the water, I shivered slightly, but ultimately shrugged.  


“Could be worse…” I muttered.  


Glancing around, once again, I quickly stripped and slipped into the water, breathing quickly as I waited a second or two to acclimate to the temperature. Once I had decided that it had been long enough, I quickly removed the tie from my hair, shaking it loose from its braid, before ducking my head underwater. I furiously scrubbed at my hair for several long seconds before I surfaced, once again, shaking some of the larger strands that had fallen in my face out of the way before letting out the remaining breath I had been holding.  


Despite the temperature, it felt good to finally have some way to wash off the sweat and dirt that Talanah had so aptly noted.  


I didn’t linger any longer than I had to, though, before climbing out of the spring, shaking myself as dry as I could before slipping my clothing back on. A frown tugged at my lips at the feeling of the leather leggings and tunic quickly soaking with water, but I forced myself to push it aside as I pulled on the outer armor, as well. Thankfully, the fur tunic and skirt helped to somewhat mitigate the freezing temperature of the water in the evening breeze, so I could stop feeling quite so much like I was going to freeze to death.  


I wrung my hair out as best I could before giving up and simply shaking my head, running my fingers through it after to try to keep it as neat as I could, and hopefully remove some of the worst tangles throughout it. Satisfied that it wasn’t going to get any better, for now, I quickly made my way back down the side of the rock formation, hopping off the bottom to a soft squelching from my boots.  


“It’ll dry… eventually…” I sighed.  


With that, I mounted my Strider, once again, and set back along the trail I had followed, earlier. Within a few minutes, I brought it to a stop, once again, as multiple leather tents and small lodges appeared from the darkness of the open field ahead. I paused, staring down at the small settlement before glancing up at the top of the hill behind it. The walls of Mother’s Heart stood dark and foreboding against the side of the mountain, with no signs of fires or life from within. It almost looked like the entire settlement had suddenly become frozen in time, abandoned in an instant, almost like the ruins I had spent the last week exploring and fixing. Upon a second look, however, I noted that one whole side of the walls, facing to the East, appeared to be missing. I could just make out what must have been a lodge inside it, but it didn’t take much imagination to piece together that it must have looked like, on the inside.  


With a deep sigh, I dismounted from the Strider and began to walk toward the temporary replacement of Mother’s Heart at the base of the trail. As I approached from the open field, two Braves were waiting, their spears held at their sides. When they could finally make out who I was, their postures relaxed somewhat.  


“Aloy, welcome,” one said. “What brings you to Mother’s Heart?”  


“I need some—supplies—and… I wanted to visit,” I said softly, coming to a stop before them.  


They exchanged glances before turning back to me, their expressions more tired than wary.  


“I don’t know how many supplies there are to trade for, now… but take a look around. Will you be staying the night?”  


“I probably won’t be long, but… a bit.”  


They nodded.  


“Word travelled from Mother’s Watch,” the guard on the right said quietly.  


I wouldn’t have expected anything less.  


“Despite what—some—may think,” he continued, “seeing you here might bring some morale.”  


I shifted uncomfortably, but not from the cold wetness of my clothing, this time.  


“Stay for as long as you need,” the Brave sighed. “None should give you trouble.”  


I nodded curtly, before slipping past them and entering the gathering of shelters. Immediately, I was confronted with how small and compact everything felt, even compared to what I could recall of Mother’s Heart from before. Unlike Meridian, there were not an abundance of merchants littered about, but a few had set up shop in the small village. My eyes passed over the weapons merchant on my right as I pressed onward.  


Finally, I came to a small tent that sported a low table to one side of its entrance, several wooden jugs lining its surface. The man seated beside it glanced up as I approached and knelt to be closer to his eye level.  


“By the Goddess, the Annointed herself,” he laughed softly. “What can I do you for?”  


“How much for two?” I pointed to the jugs beside him.  


“I’ll cut you a deal—”  


“You don’t have to.”  


He gave me a strange look for a moment before I cleared my throat, nodding toward the jugs, once again.  


“So, how much for two?”  


“Twenty-five shards each, or something of equal value.”  


I counted out one set of twenty-five shards in my palm before also pulling two spheres of desert glass from a pouch at my hip, as well.  


“This work?”  


He nodded, and I handed them over.  


“There’s two varieties. One of each?”  


I nodded and he leaned back toward the entrance to the tent.  


“Shara, one elderflower and one root tea.”  


The sounds of motion and grumbling from inside the tent sounded for a moment or two before a pair of hands, holding a jug each, suddenly appeared from the opening.  


“Thank you, my dear,” the man said, taking the offered jugs before turning to me. “Enjoy.”  


I nodded, taking them from him before rising to my feet, once again. With a sigh, I shook my head slightly to try to move some of the strands of hair that blew in my face from the sudden gust of wind, but it did little use.  


As I awkwardly tried to use one hand to move them aside, while still holding the jug, a voice suddenly called out and I began to turn toward it.  


“Aloy! Aloy, it is you!”  


I finally managed to clear my vision of the unruly mane of red just in time to see Teb approaching, holding his arms to either side. Before I had a chance to say or do anything, he wrapped me in a tight embrace and I had no choice but to just stand there as he pinned my arms to my sides. A moment later, however, he released me and took a step back, a broad, genuine smile on his face.  


“I’d heard that you were back, but that you had been inside the mountain this whole time,” he said. “I was wondering if I would get the chance to see you, at all.”  


“Sorry, I… I’ve been busy,” I replied, smiling sheepishly.  


“I know, I know, and I don’t fault you,” he said quickly. “From the stories I’ve heard, you’ve quite the mission.”  


Confusion creased my face as I tilted my head to the side slightly.  


“Out of curiosity, what have the stories said, exactly?”  


“Well, there are a few,” he nodded. “Most commonly I’ve heard that you’re here to… heal All Mother.”  


I nodded slowly as I chewed the inside of my cheek.  


It wasn’t entirely all that far off from the truth.  


“In a sense, yes,” I finally replied. “What’s the most outlandish one you’ve heard?”  


His smile faltered for a moment and I had a feeling I was going to quickly regret asking that question.  


“That you’ve come to see the end of the Nora people, once and for all.”  


My jaw clenched tightly as my fingers tightened around the jugs held in them for a moment.  


“I don’t believe it,” he added softly, “but… some like to talk.”  


“Oh, I know,” I spat, but quickly stopped myself as I took a deep breath in through my nose. “Sorry, I…”  


“No need,” he interrupted. “I understand. Not everyone knows you as I do.”  


I hesitated for a moment before nodding slowly, sighing heavily.  


“So, what brings you to Mother’s Heart this evening?” he asked.  


“Supplies,” I replied, lifting the jugs slightly.  


“That… doesn’t seem like what I’d expect from you,” he said slowly.  


“It’s not all for me.”  


“Your companions?”  


I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised that he knew about them, too.  


Especially them, of all things, I guess.  


“Yeah. Like I said, we’ve been busy, so… celebration.”  


He nodded slowly, staring blankly at me as if lost in thought for a moment or two before he blinked and the alertness returned to his eyes, once again.  


“I would ask if you would be staying for dinner,” he began, but glanced around at the collection of tents within the semi-circle of hastily-assembled wooden huts, “but I don’t know if it carries the same weight as it did the last time you were here.”  


“R-right, I… I appreciate it, Teb, but… I don’t want to inconvenience anyone.”  


“I’m sure it would be no inconvenience,” he replied, “but… I understand.”  


I chewed my lower lip for a moment or two in silence as I fought the roiling emotions in my chest.  


Giving everything for so many, but neglecting the few closest…  


I swallowed heavily before clearing my throat.  


“You know what? I changed my mind. I’m certainly not in a rush to drink all this.”  


He gave me a curious look as I offered him a smirk.  


“I’ve been locked inside a mountain for a week. I need some time away.”  


A smile slowly returned to his face as he nodded toward the other side of the main open area in the center of the settlement.  


“This way, then.”  


Despite the almost total destruction of the actual Mother’s Heart and everything that had changed and happened since, the Nora’s cooking hadn’t seemed to change a bit. It wasn’t altogether bad, it just notably lacked the style and explosion of flavors that the food from Meridian contained. Teb and I took seats on a crude, log bench around a roaring bonfire, where other Braves had also gathered to eat.  


Of course, my sudden appearance had drawn attention at first, but the expressions seemed less wary and subtly murderous, and simply surprised. Not a word was said other than a standard greeting, however, and we were allowed to eat in peace, conversing on our own.  


It seemed Teb had been busy in the time since the battle at Meridian, taking on rolls more than simply a Stitcher within the tribe. He had worked with the healers to help mend wounds after the battle, but since coming back to the Embrace, there was little in the way of wounds to treat, anymore, so he took to helping with the building of the huts and lodges I had seen scattered across the lands so far.  


As he described various stories of helping others rebuild, one thought continued to float through my mind, and I tried my best to hold it in, in fear of potentially spoiling his seeming good mood. Finally, after several long minutes, I had almost entirely finished my plate of roasted boar and whatever mixture of corn, nuts, and what seemed to be beets the Mother had served me, but Teb was just beginning to slow in his storytelling, having barely touched his food in the meantime.  


Finally, with a heavy sigh, he seemed to come to a natural conclusion to his recent story about the goose that had attacked and chased after the Brave who had helped him try to drag a tree to Mother’s Watch to use for repairs to the wall.  


“Sorry, just… it feels like so much,” he sighed, laughing softly as he finally seemed to pay attention to his food, reaching for one of the pieces of meat on his plate.  


“Sounds like it,” I replied, offering a small smile even as the burning question that had been in the back of my mind this entire time practically forced its way into the back of my throat. “All that happened in, what, three months?”  


“More or less,” he shrugged.  


“And… still…”  


I trailed off but Teb caught my eye as I glanced back toward the dark silhouette of Mother’s Heart against the side of the mountain. He let out a heavy sigh as I turned my attention back to him.  


“To be honest, Aloy… most people just don’t have the heart to rebuild, right now,” he said quietly.  


“Why not?”  


“So much was lost… in the Proving Massacre and the Eclipse attack… and not everyone came home from Meridian.”  


A tight feeling appeared in my chest as a heavy weight sank in my stomach and I found myself unable to finish the last few bites of food on my plate.  


“Part of me wonders, if we had rebuilt Mother’s Heart already… would their even be enough people to live in it?”  


I couldn’t look up at Teb or any of the other Nora nearby, instead keeping my gaze firmly fixed on the plate in my lap. Echoes of voices that I couldn’t place began to ring in my ears, and I tried my best to not acknowledge them, but that only seemed to make them grow louder.  


“Completely deforested…”  


“Entirely irradiated…”  


“Inhospitable wasteland…”  


“Nothing left alive…”  


The tight feeling in my chest had begun to turn to a fire, starting first as a small pinprick against my sternum, but it quickly began to spread and grow in intensity.  


“Sent them to die…”  


“You know they won’t be coming home…”  


“Just sending more kids to die…”  


Suddenly, I shot to my feet, grabbing my plate from my lap before it fell to the ground and unceremoniously dumping whatever remained onto it into the bonfire before me.  


“Aloy?”  


“I’m sorry, I have to go.”  


“Aloy, I didn’t—”  


“It’s not—it’s not you, Teb,” I managed, my throat already constricting as I tried to force my voice to remain as even as possible, “I just… Thank you for inviting me, and for the stories.”  


With that, I quickly turned and marched back to the Mother at the serving area, leaving my plate atop the pile of other dirty ones before returning to the log bench with Teb just long enough to grab the wooden jugs I had left behind.  


“Aloy, I’m sorry, I…”  


I paused as I went to turn away, making eye contact with Teb finally, which only made the tight feeling in my throat worse. The saddened, hurt look on his features was too much for right now.  


No, I couldn’t do all of— _this_.  


Not after… not after everything so far.  


“I’ll make sure to stop by… sometime… soon,” I muttered, giving him a thin-lipped smile before quickly moving past him and toward where I had entered the camp.  


It was impossible to tell if the whispers I heard around me were actually from the Nora I passed, or from a time long past, but I tried not to focus on any of them, in particular. Just as I was reaching the edge of the settlement, a single, loud voice stopped me in my tracks, my hands tightening around the jugs held in them.  


“Look who has come to see what she has wrought… and yet is still unable to see, for too long.”  


I slowly focused on the entrance ahead of me until the figure of a man in a Brave’s armor and sporting a large, dark fur cloak came into view against the darkness behind him. He stood in the center of my path, his spear held propped on the ground to his left side, a malicious smirk on his features.  


“It must be nice to cast aside your home so easily.”  


“Any place you are is not my home,” I spat.  


“And I should say the same for you, chuff,” Resh snarled, beginning to advance toward me. “I’ve heard that even Lansra has changed her opinion of you.”  


I remained where I was as the once-temporary War Chief came to a stop before me, his expression having changed from one of playful malice to a full-on scowl as he stared down at me.  


“I do not find myself swayed, as such,” he said quietly, his voice just loud enough for me to hear him.  


“Good thing you’re not in charge, then.”  


That seemed to strike a nerve as his jaw worked tensely in silence for several moments.  


“Do not forget, while you have been absent, I have been here, with _my_ people, working to rebuild.”  


“And you’re doing a bang-up job of it!” I snapped, my voice suddenly much louder.  


All sound seemed to have been sucked out of the settlement as I could sense numerous pairs of eyes on me, but I refused to look away from Resh’s glare.  


“And you have brought foreigners into our Sacred Lands,” he growled. “If I were War Chief, you would be tried as a traitor.”  


“But you’re not,” I shot back, taking a step even closer to him, “and for good reason.”  


“The reason is because Sona is not dead.”  


That did it.  


In a split second, I had dropped the jugs in my hands and instead reached for his spear before me. He seemed to anticipate this and moved to swing it forward toward me, seemingly trying to move it out of my trajectory, but what he didn’t see was the knee I suddenly drove forward into the joint where his leg met his hip. A howl of pain escaped him as I twisted to my right, grabbing his spear with both hands and violently ripping it from his grasp.  


Resh staggered for a moment before I spun his spear around and quickly dealt a hard blow with the butt end to the back of his left knee, sending him to the ground. He caught himself with both hands at the last second, but before he could attempt to make any other movements, I delivered a swift kick to his side.  


A loud grunt escaped him as he was thrown onto his right side, the breath audibly bursting from his lungs before he began to wheeze for air. The spear spun in my hands, seemingly of its own accord, before I suddenly found it held over Resh, the blade inches from his throat.  


Gasps and murmurs sounded from a few yards away, but I ignored them as I stared down at the winded Brave, who was trying his best to offer a defiant scowl through his heavy breathing, and while constantly eying the position of the spear’s blade compared to himself.  


“As much joy as it would bring me,” I snarled, “the Nora don’t need more loss.”  


With that, I tossed his spear into the grass just past him, out of his easy reach. Resh remained surprisingly silent as I stepped away from him, glancing up at the crowd that had started to gather, before turning and grabbing the wooden jugs from where I had dropped them moments ago.  


Thankfully, the fall hadn’t been enough to crack them, or knock the corks loose, so I swiped them from the grass and kept walking toward the exit of the settlement in one, smooth motion. As I stalked past the two Braves standing guard, neither of them moved to stop me, nor even began to say anything, so I simply kept moving until I reached the Strider I had left in the open field outside earlier.  


Once I had stashed the jugs in the bags I tied to the machine’s back, I clambered atop it, taking a moment to stare at the small settlement in the center of the dark, open ground ahead of me. The glow of the bonfires was easily visible, now that the sun had set, while the plumes of smoke from them were much more hidden against the darkness of the landscape.  


For a moment, the shapes of the tents and huts took on a different appearance, one much taller and more rectangular, although the glows of the fires still remained. Swallowing the hard lump in my throat down, I turned the Strider back to the trail and set off for Mother’s Watch, once again.  


The trip through the settlement was thankfully silent, and I was able to reach the door to the facility without incident, even as I lugged two mysterious wooden jugs with me. I barely paid attention to my surroundings as I stepped inside the facility and turned toward the walkway that eventually led to the control room.  


As I went to step onto the metal surface, however, something appeared directly before me and I jumped, letting out a yelp in surprise. My eyes refocused as the image of Petra recoiling in surprise, as well, registered in my mind.  


“I thought you’d heard me,” she laughed. “Didn’t expect to sneak up on you from the front.”  


“Sorry, distracted,” I mumbled, shifting my hold on the jugs slightly.  


She gave me a concerned look for a moment or two before evidently deciding to drop the line of questioning she so obviously wanted to pursue, and instead pointed to my cargo.  


“Whatcha got there?”  


I glanced down at them before lifting both jugs before me.  


“Celebration.”  


She gave me a look at my deadpan delivery, but a grin began to slowly crack my features and she shook her head.  


“I’ll be the judge of that.”  


She took one of the jugs from me and quickly popped the cork from its top, sniffing the opening before shivering slightly.  


“I didn’t know the Nora knew their way around spirits,” she remarked, putting the cork back in place. “This may be getting close to Oseram craftsmanship.”  


I rolled my eyes before gesturing farther along the walkway.  


“Come on, let’s find the others.”  


“I’m sure they’re probably still in there,” she said, nodding toward the control room, “playing whatever game of Talanah’s that she tried to get me to play before you left.”  


“Erend is playing?”  


“He took to it shockingly well,” she shrugged. “Claims it has something to do with being a Captain and other such hearsay.”  


I laughed as I shook my head.  


“Yeah, sounds like he’s full of shit.”  


Petra gave me an odd look and I raised my eyebrows slightly.  


“What?”  


“Nothing,” she laughed, but her expression quickly grew more serious as she nudged my elbow with hers. “You were gone a while… is everything okay?”  


I sighed.  


“Yeah, just… ran into someone I knew.”  


“Oh?”  


“Yeah… it was nice to catch up,” I shrugged.  


Petra remained silent for several seconds, but clearly elected not to press the point any further. Instead, she suddenly scoffed and ruffled my hair.  


“You cleaned up, too!”  


“So what?”  


“Nothing, just trying to decide if I like you better all dirty or clean.”  


I shoved her playfully with my shoulder, but I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks.  


“Your hair looks good like that, though.”  


“A mess?”  


“Yeah, but… like… a good mess.”  


I gave her an admonishing look and she grinned sheepishly.  


“Just being honest, y’know?”  


As we passed through the door to the first level of the APOLLO workstations, I paused, glancing back at her.  


“Thanks… I guess.”  


Petra hesitated for a moment before a wide grin split her features.  


“Any time, Flame Hair.”


	14. Reanimator

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Monday y'all.
> 
> This week's chapter in word count is a little shorter than the last few, but in substance, there's no less... I hope.
> 
> There are some pretty big bombshells to come and I'm so excited to finally drop them.
> 
> It's killing me to have to wait.
> 
> So enough delay.

The blues and purples and whites of the facility seemed so much brighter than they should have as my eyes cracked open, only to immediately squeeze them shut, again. A groan forced its way out of me as the pounding in my temples came soon after and I swallowed against the desert-dry feeling in my mouth. Sounds of motion came from nearby, as well, and I debated whether it was something I should be worried about, and then if I should just accept my fate, if it was.  


Finally, I found my eyes open, once again, and the lights seemed much less blinding, now. Several blinks later, and I was able to make out what the motion was, too. Erend was rubbing at his eyes while he still remained seated against the wall. I noted that his armor was missing, but he still wore the white undershirt and striped pants that usually went beneath it; one boot was missing, though.  


We locked eyes for a moment and he nodded slowly.  


“Mornin’.”  


I muttered something that was supposed to be a response, but I couldn’t even convince myself that it was real words. He didn’t try to press a conversation, thankfully, and I focused on getting myself into a sitting position, as well. When I had finally managed to drag myself to a cross-legged position on the bedroll, I glanced around for the other two. Petra lay off her bedroll several feet away, her blanket wrapped around her and seemingly another figure, as well.  


My eyes widened for a moment until I noticed the second figure had a shining, metal head and arm, and my face cracked into a grin. Erend followed my gaze and laughed softly.  


“Someone had fun,” I remarked, my voice gravelly and quiet.  


“We’re all in some kind of way,” he nodded, turning back to me and glancing to something to my right.  


I followed his gaze and jumped slightly when I found Talanah almost right beside me. Her hair was a wild mess around her head and she appeared to be curled into a ball on the ground only a foot or so away from me. She was still covered by her fur blanket, but I noted that while a portion of her shoulder was visible, her silk top from yesterday was not.  


“Yeah… some kind of way,” I muttered, feeling my heart race as I looked back up at Erend. “You remember anything?”  


“Most of it… I think,” he said.  


“So, uh… I don’t.”  


He chuckled softly.  


“Yeah, I wouldn’t imagine you would.”  


I grimaced slightly as I began to stretch my torso back and forth, trying to alleviate the tension that had built up in my back overnight.  


“I’m gonna grab one of our canteens,” Erend said, beginning to get to his feet, “before I shrivel up.”  


I nodded, continuing to stretch as he moved around the bedrolls and toward the stash of supplies along the adjacent wall. My eyes travelled over to the sleeping form of Talanah, once again, as I desperately tried to recall anything that had come between when we had tapped into the Nora spirits and now.  


It was embarrassing how soon after that I couldn’t remember anything.  


Something tapped me on the shoulder and I jumped, startled out of my reverie. Erend grinned as he waved the canteen toward me.  


“I take it you want some?”  


I nodded, quickly taking it from his hand and opening the top. It was about three-quarters full, but it quickly disappeared as I tilted my head back, not stopping until I had drained the last drop from it.  


“That’s the one thing that never goes away, even with— _practice_ ,” Erend remarked.  


“Unfortunately…” I sighed, placing the cap back on the canteen.  


A few moments of silence followed as I turned the leather-bound metal canister in my hands, staring blankly at the ground before me. The sound of Erend clearing his throat brought me back to the present as I glanced up at him.  


“Hey… you, uh—you up to take a short walk?”  


I frowned slightly at the hesitation in his tone, but nodded. Erend offered me a hand and I used it to pull myself to my feet. Once standing, I quickly checked myself over, finding that I was thankfully still dressed in my leather under-tunic and leggings. With a sigh, I gestured for Erend to lead on and we made our way out of the control room.  


Not long after we had begun to stroll along the row of APOLLO workstations, Erend cleared his throat again, glancing over at me.  


“Aloy… last night, I… I remember you were… acting strange.”  


My heart began to pound in my chest as I swallowed at the lump in my throat.  


“How so?”  


“You… one second you were laughing along with the rest of us, but the next… I don’t know, but it was something else.”  


Erend suddenly came to a stop, leaning back against one of the walls of the workstations as he folded his arms over his chest.  


“You kept trying to talk to me, saying you had to say something in private.”  


My palms were clammy as I tried to press them against my tunic to alleviate the feeling, but it did little to help.  


“Did I… did we ever talk?”  


“Not that I remember,” he replied, shaking his head, “but… you seemed pretty serious about it.”  


I nodded slowly, brushing some of my hair back and twisting it into a loose braid to try to keep my hands busy and distract myself from the trembling in my fingers.  


“You… don’t remember what it might have been, do you?”  


I froze, looking over at Erend as he studied me with an unreadable expression. Finally, I shook my head.  


“Sorry, I don’t.”  


He nodded slowly, an air of disappointment to his motions.  


“Can… c-can I ask you a question?”  


He raised one eyebrow slightly as I cleared my throat.  


“Is… uh… do you remember why Talanah… uh… seems to be dressed like she is… or… _isn’t_?”  


He paused for a moment before laughing and shaking his head.  


“I swore some other spirit must have possessed her for a little while,” he said. “She turned into one of the wildest revelers I’ve ever seen and… well, she got a little carried away.”  


I raised my eyebrows.  


“Carried away?”  


He nodded slowly.  


“She’s quite the dancer.”  


We stared back at each other for a few moments before we both broke into laughter.  


That seemed to be a major bullet dodged.  


“You weren’t too bad, yourself.”  


I suddenly froze, my eyes widening as Erend did, as well.  


Maybe I had spoken too soon.  


“Uh… what? I am?”  


Erend cleared his throat, fidgeting with the collar of his shirt as he glanced off to my side.  


“You—uh—instigated.”  


“I _what_?!”  


Erend jumped at the volume of my voice as I quickly placed one hand over my mouth, my eyes still widened.  


“It’s—uh—it’s the past, now,” he said. “I—uh—it was—nothing bad…”  


I ran my hands back through my hair as I paced several steps away, shaking my head.  


This had been my idea, getting the liquor.  


Guess I wouldn’t be making that mistake, again.  


“Oh, uh… you also tried to do something with one of those drives and the little metal thing, like yours,” he said, gesturing to my Focus.  


“Like what?”  


“I don’t know, but you kept yelling what I can only assume were curses at the top of your lungs and insulting both things.”  


I groaned, running my hands over my face as I tilted my head back.  


That settled it.  


Never drinking again.  


“So basically, everything went wrong,” I sighed.  


“I mean… everyone seemed happy during,” he laughed.  


“I can’t be held to the same standard as the me you saw last night,” I sighed. “Let’s just… move on from here and not worry about all of it, okay?”  


He laughed but nodded.  


“Good…” I said slowly, chewing the inside of my cheek for a moment before I sighed heavily. “I should probably check on those drives and that Focus, then.”  


Erend nodded and followed me as I led the way back into the control room. As we stepped inside, I found Petra sitting up, but staring blankly at the far wall. At the sound of our footsteps, she blinked and turned toward us, seemingly taking a few more seconds before she realized who we were.  


“Haven’t had a morning like this in a long time,” she remarked.  


“None of us have,” Erend laughed.  


“Guess that means last night was a good one, though.”  


Erend and I exchanged glances before offering awkward shrugs.  


“You two…?”  


“No,” we both said quickly, only bringing a larger smirk to Petra’s face.  


“I was gonna say, I didn’t remember that…”  


“Good thing there’s nothing to remember about it,” I said quickly, turning toward the console at the front of the room in an attempt to focus on something else, and not be forced to face Petra and Erend, anymore.  


They continued to talk a bit, but I focused on the stacks of drives as I knelt down before them. It seemed Erend was right, because the one that I knew was the three ELEUTHIA drives had one sitting on the ground before the others, the Focus I had been using to transfer the files a good foot or so away from it. I slipped mine off and grabbed the one on the ground, placing it beside my right ear.  


The interface came to life around me, along with a box in the center of my vision.  


“File transfer complete.”  


“How long did we sleep for?” I muttered, but swiped it aside and grabbed the third drive.  


Within a minute or so, I had set it up to begin transferring, as well, and replaced it at the top of the pile with the Focus laying atop it. When I rose to my feet and faced the others, once again, I found Talanah just beginning to sit up, the fur blanket wrapped tightly around her.  


“Don’t tell me that…” she groaned, shaking her head.  


“I mean, I didn’t know that’s what you all do at the Hunter’s Lodge all the time.”  


“We don’t,” she snapped. “I… never mind.”  


Petra only looked more excited as she leaned forward slightly, pointing the hand of the servitor bot she had slept beside at Talanah.  


“There’s no shame in it, girl,” she said. “You’re young, it’s a big city, there’s a lot of people…”  


“Yeah, I’m—I’m not doing this right now,” Talanah interrupted, shaking her head. “I need some water and… like ten more hours of sleep.”  


I smirked slightly as I approached the group, coming to a stop behind Petra as I folded my arms over my chest.  


“I see you got out relatively unscathed,” Talanah commented, looking up at me.  


“I feel pretty terrible, but… well, I don’t remember much, so I choose to live in ignorance.”  


“Yeah, me, too,” she replied nodding. “That’s my stance. Sorry everyone, don’t remember it.”  


I laughed as Petra waved dismissively, throwing the servitor arm back to the ground.  


“You’re no fun.”

  


  


Despite the lights on in the hallway, providing a sense that the facility was getting back to its original state, many of the doors still seemed to be inoperable, and required quite a fair bit of coaxing to move after a thousand years of disuse. Sometimes they were so jammed that we abandoned them and moved on, hoping to find another, similar room later on, but this time, Petra was having none of that.  


We were getting into this room one way or another.  


“Not a machine or hunk of metal who’s gotten the best of me,” she growled, trying to wedge a piece of metal from a broken railing into the small gap between the two doors.  


“Petra, I’m not saying I’m doubting your abilities…” I began, but she quickly silenced me.  


“Not now Flame Hair, I’ve almost got it…”  


I rolled my eyes, folding my arms over my chest and leaning back against the wall beside the door.  


“You said that, like, an hour ago…” I muttered.  


“I heard that.”  


“I’m not wrong.”  


She didn’t respond, but continued to focus on her task at hand, finally seeming to have braced the section of metal piping between the doors in a way that gave her leverage. Petra leaned forward against it, gripping the metal tightly. A moment later, she suddenly pulled back on it with all of her strength, letting out something almost like a growl in exertion. At first, it seemed as fruitless as the past several times I had watched her do it, but a moment later, I heard a deep groaning from the doorway and I pushed away from the wall, glancing over at her.  


“Aloy… get… over… here…” Petra managed, but didn’t stop pulling at the piece of metal.  


I quickly stepped onto the other side of her, placing my hands around hers and pushing. The groaning continued from the doorway and I noted how the gap appeared to be slightly wider, now. We kept at our efforts, even as I could see Petra’s face pass from dark red to almost purple and my own hands and arms began to burn.  


Just as I was about to give up, a high-pitched screeching sounded form beside us. The next thing I knew, I had shot forward, colliding with something warm before the world tilted around me and I felt myself falling. I landed on top of the warm, somewhat soft, object as a loud grunt escaped me.  


I blinked rapidly until the image of Petra beneath me on the ground came into view, her eyes slightly widened for a moment before her face twisted into a smirk.  


“If I had actually made this plan to have you throw yourself at me…”  


I rolled my eyes and intentionally braced my hands on her shoulders to help push myself to a standing position, eliciting a groan from her. When I was on my feet, I offered a hand to her and she took it, nearly pulling me back down as she began to drag herself to a standing position. I gave her a dirty look once she was upright and she flashed me a wide grin.  


With a sigh, I rolled my eyes but turned back to the doorway we had just labored over for so long. The opening now stood clear of the two doors, revealing a dark space beyond that must have been relatively large, as even with the light spilling in from the hallway, I couldn’t make out the far wall. What I could see right near the front, however, were the vaguely unsettling humanoid shapes that stood entirely still, almost as if waiting for someone to look away before they leapt forward and grabbed you with their cold, metal hands.  


A shiver ran down my spine as I turned back to Petra, who was looking much less unsettled and much more excited. She stepped into the doorway and began to feel along the wall to the left.  


“Think there’s one of those light-control-things in here?” she asked, glancing back at me.  


I shrugged.  


“Check the other side.”  


I reached into the room as she did, feeling along the wall to the right hand side. Nothing immediately stood out to me, and I was about to give up when my hand suddenly passed over something smooth and glass-like. A moment later, an electronic chime sounded and dim lights began to flicker in the ceiling overhead.  


We waited a few moments as more of them came to life, but none of them seemed to get incredibly bright, and almost all of them flickered, somehow making the images of the Servitor bots’ outlines even more terrifying.  


“Well, it’s something,” Petra sighed, undeterred, and stepped into the entrance of the room. “Grab one or two, would ya?”  


“And… do what?”  


“Drag ‘em outside so we can actually see anything.”  


I frowned slightly, but stepped forward, approaching the nearest frame of the disused Servitor bot. It seemed to be standing, although its head and shoulders were slumped forward, its arms hanging limply at its side. The skull-like metal head didn’t move as my imagination thought it might, but I still hesitated before reaching forward and wrapping my arms around its torso. I attempted to life it up, but the bot seemed to be caught on something.  


With a frown, I released it and stepped around to the side, squinting against the flickering light directly overhead to try to see what held it in place, still. I quickly found that a metal beam was still attached to its back. I reached toward it, trying to find a way to release the mechanism, but nothing immediately presented itself. With a sigh, I stepped back from the bot, glancing over toward Petra to find her struggling with something similar.  


“They’re still locked in place,” I said.  


“I’m noticing,” she shot back. “Can you get the building-brain to do something about it?”  


I turned back to the servitor as I tapped my Focus, bringing up the interface around me. As my gaze fell on the locking mechanism holding the bot in place, a box appeared beside it, along with a soft chime in my ear.  


“Dr. Sobeck, this room does not currently have power to the docking stations,” an overly-synthetic voice said in my ear. “Scans indicate that the disruption is simply related to a faulty breaker. Would you like me to attempt a remote reset?”  


“Yes, reset.”  


A chime sounded in my ear before the room fell silent, once again. Several seconds passed before another chime sounded, this time in the room, itself, rather than through my Focus.  


“Power to docking stations restored.”  


I glanced over at Petra to see her looking up toward the ceiling for a moment before turning back to me.  


“That… sounds like it worked.”  


I nodded.  


“Use your Focus,” I said. “Scan the parts holding the bot in place.”  


“Uh… do what? And how?”  


“Just turn it on, look at it, and wait for something to pop up.”  


She nodded, tapping the device beside her ear before turning back to the task before her. I turned back to my bot, scanning the docking system, once again. A new box appeared beside it, once the familiar green circle over it had filled.  


“Unit is at low power. Disconnect anyway?”  


I tapped the “y” option and the box disappeared. Soon after, a metallic clunking sounded from the device and the bot shook slightly before beginning to fall forward. I quickly slipped in front of it and stopped it from crashing to the floor. With my arms wrapped around its chest, I returned it to a standing position before glancing over my shoulder toward Petra. She was just throwing her bot over her shoulder, seemingly unfazed in the slightest.  


“These things are little miracles,” she laughed, gesturing to her Focus.  


“Now you know why I’ve liked mine so much this whole time.”  


She nodded.  


“Let’s bring these back to my workshop, yeah?”  


I sighed and carefully lifted the bot across my shoulders. Its weight was cumbersome, but not entirely impossible to hold; if I had to guess, I would say that it was roughly the same height and weight as myself.  


Almost as soon as I tried to start walking, I felt like I was going to retract my earlier thought about it being not that cumbersome. My back quickly began to ache and I found my balance tipping from side to side as I tried to walk forward. Petra quickly noticed and laughed.  


“You didn’t grab more of those Nora spirits when I wasn’t looking, did you?”  


“No,” I growled through my clenched teeth. “Just… little heavy…”  


“Here, let me help you.”  


“I’ve… got it…”  


I pushed ahead toward the door, finally managing to get my balance in place, although my back and shoulders still burned from trying to hold the human-like form in place. Once outside the room, I let Petra take the lead as we navigated back through the various hallways toward the former freight elevator shaft that we had repurposed for our own uses.  


As we approached the open doors, we found the wooden platform hanging from a series of ropes that we had set up in lieu of the original elevator car. Once the bots were placed on the wooden platform, Petra tested the weight before shrugging and glancing back at me.  


“Probably still good for both of us to be on here.”  


I glanced at the slowly swaying platform before looking back up at her.  


“You sure?”  


“You doubt my judgement?”  


“In some things, yes.”  


She rolled her eyes and began to tug on the rope, lifting the platform away from the open doorway. I quickly scrambled forward, climbing onto the platform and grabbing hold of one of the main support ropes that attached to the wooden floor, itself. Petra let out a hearty laugh as I shot her a dirty look.  


“I wouldn’t actually leave you behind, Little Spark,” she said.  


I grumbled something unintelligible but otherwise remained silent as Petra began to pull on the rope to move the lift upward. After a few moments, she cleared her throat, glancing back at me.  


“Care to help? We can still move, but… it’s a little heavier than I anticipated.”  


I placed my hands on my hips, giving her an admonishing look.  


“What’re you saying about me?”  


She rolled her eyes.  


“Oh please, you’re like a piece of finely hammered sheet iron,” she said.  


“I… what?”  


“Thin and lightweight, but flexible and strong.”  


My blank stare only amused her further.  


“Is it working?”  


“Is what working?” I shot back.  


“My attempts to appeal to your good graces so you’ll actually help me?”  


I sighed, shaking my head, but stepped forward and gripped part of the rope above Petra’s hands.  


“While your flirting may not quite hit its mark,” I said, glancing over at her, “it at least amuses me.”  


“Hey, some would say it’s working, then,” she shot back, wiggling her eyebrows.  


With a loud groan, I began to pull on the rope, getting our lift moving, once again. Petra laughed, but joined in, the two of us making the weight on the rope much easier to handle. Within only a minute or two, we had reached the top level, and came to a stop. I hopped off the platform first, not wanting to admit to the uneasy feeling that had been building in my stomach the entire time as the platform had swayed and twisted slightly during our ascent.  


Petra joined me soon after, turning back to drag one of the Servitors off the lift and throw it over her shoulder. She gave me an expectant look as I stepped forward, dragging my bot up and over my shoulders, as before. This time, I was prepared for the weight and didn’t stagger drunkenly back and forth as Petra led the way back through the hallways to the area she had claimed as her workshop: one of the former play areas for the first children.  


She had cleared most of the playsets and toys to one side, and appropriated what she needed from the larger structures to build several large tables, completed with smaller desk lights that Talanah had found deep in what had originally been designed to be quasi-apartments when the children had grown to adolescence, but had never been used when the door to the APOLLO workstations wouldn’t open.  


Petra unceremoniously dumped her charge on one of the empty benches and nodded toward the one adjacent to it.  


“Drop ‘er there.”  


I followed suit, letting out a heavy sigh as I stepped back.  


“You sure it’s a her?”  


“Like you said, they’re whatever we want ‘em to be, right?”  


I grinned as Petra laughed.  


“So that’s your plan? Get them up and running?”  


She shrugged, bracing her hands on her hips as she looked down at the two motionless bots laid out before her.  


“Ever since we got here, and I first saw these things, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about them,” she said, shaking the nearest one’s arm slightly. “It continues to astound me that the Old Ones made machines that were… almost human.”  


I frowned slightly.  


“In appearance, maybe.”  


“I heard those, journal-things,” Petra shot back, pointing to the Focus beside her right ear. “They spoke to those children like adults.”  


“Prison guards, maybe…”  


“But still, they _spoke_ ,” she emphasized. “When’s the last time you had a conversation with a Watcher?”  


I laughed as I shook my head, folding my arms over my chest as I began to pace on the other side of the bench from her.  


“I guess I haven’t.”  


“So my point stands,” she continued. “Why make these things, at all?”  


“Well, someone had to be around to help raise the first children here,” I countered.  


“I suppose, but… you said they existed outside of here, before that, right?”  


I nodded.  


“So was that their entire purpose then, too? Raising children?”  


A strange feeling passed through my chest and I absentmindedly rubbed at it, frowning slightly.  


“I—maybe.”  


“Maybe?” she shot back, raising her eyebrows. “I thought you were supposed to have all the answers.”  


Her face twisted into a smirk as I laughed and shook my head.  


“Sorry to let you down.”  


We fell into silence for several moments as she began to poke and prod at the bot she had carried. Within only a minute or two, she had managed to open the chest compartment and was seemingly trying to trace the wires to somewhere.  


“What are you trying to do with it, exactly?” I asked.  


“Well, maybe restart it,” she sighed. “Something tells me I could stare at this for weeks and still not totally get how it worked, though.”  


I scoffed.  


“You? The greatest Tinkerer this side of the Claim?”  


Petra grabbed a small piece of metal plating she had removed from the bot beside her and threw it at me as I laughed and quickly skirted out of the way, the piece clanging to the floor a few feet away.  


“You think this thing has any information on these, too?” she sighed, gesturing to her Focus, once again.  


I shrugged.  


“Probably not on how to build them… not anymore, at least.”  


“Well, it does a good job of telling me what each piece is, but not what it means or what it does.”  


“It’s a tool, Petra,” I chided, smirking, “it’s only as good as the person using it.”  


“You looking to start more fights, flame-hair?”  


Eventually, Petra gave up on the bot, for the time being, and dropped her tools with a sigh. We made our way back to the Control Room, where Talanah and Erend had taken to organizing smaller items that we had discovered that could be useful, in some way. As we entered, the long desk space in the center of the room was littered with odds and ends: tools, pieces of larger furnishings, and various abandoned devices, to name a few. Talanah was leaning her back against one of the old chairs beside the desk, grimacing as she appeared to lean farther over it.  


“You okay?”  


She glanced over at me and made a sound halfway between a grunt and a groan as she pushed herself to a standing position, once again.  


“Sleeping on a bedroll on this floor for however long it's been, now, certainly isn’t doing anything good for my back,” she grumbled. “How’s yours?”  


I shrugged.  


“It’s been better.”  


She rolled her eyes as I smirked, moving over to the desk and leaning against it as I surveyed the haul atop it.  


“Took everything that was firmly fixed in place, or didn’t seem wholly broken right away,” Erend remarked, appearing on the opposite side, glancing over at the items, as well.  


“Well, you never know what’ll be useful,” I shrugged.  


“And what I can pilfer for myself,” Petra chimed in, slowly moving along the side next to me as she scanned its surface.  


I gave her a look but she didn’t notice, so I turned back to the other two.  


“So, today’s the day?” Erend sighed, standing up straight and stretching one arm behind his head.  


“I hope so,” I sighed, folding my arms over my chest as I glanced toward the main console near the large window.  


“You hope so? You’ve been waving your hands about and cursing that desk-thing to the sun and back,” he grinned.  


“I mean, we’re trying to fix a thousand-year-old machine, basically,” I shot back. “Have you fixed one that’s even just a year old?”  


“I have,” Petra interrupted.  


I rolled my eyes as I heard Talanah snicker as she approached the group, completing the huddle we had formed around one end of the table in the center of the room.  


“Well, not just the physically moving parts, but the brain, too,” I added.  


“When you say it that way…” Erend said, shivering.  


“Well, that’s the easiest way to explain it… and today we flip the switch and hope the whole thing doesn’t blow up in our faces,” I finally sighed.  


“Wait, you never said it might—”  


“Not literally,” I interrupted, shooting a look at Petra who sighed, nodding.  


“You had me worried there for a second, Spark.”  


“That part was when you were hammering all of those power cells into place before we turned the lights on.”  


“You didn’t tell me that!”  


I shrugged, grinning.  


“Oops.”  


She rolled her eyes but punched my shoulder playfully.  


“So, what exactly are we doing, today?” Talanah asked, trying to bring us back on task. “You already fixed the building’s mind-thing, right?”  


“Yes, ELEUTHIA has been installed since the day after that one night—”  


“Right,” she said quickly, the hints of scarlet appearing on her cheekbones and on her ears as I found a grin tugging at my lips.  


“Anyway, ELEUTHIA has been installed for the past few weeks, and things seem to be going well.”  


“So today?”  


I sighed.  


“The big one.”  


“GAIA.”  


I glanced over at Talanah to find her face had quickly gone pale, all hints of the color from a moment ago gone as fast as they had appeared. After several long seconds, I nodded, glancing to the other two to find them also giving me grim expressions.  


Clearly I was not the only one nervous about this moment.  


“So… what are we waiting for?”  


I blinked away the haze that had begun to descend around me as I focused on Erend across the table. His jaw was set as he stared back at me, the conviction in his posture and his voice giving me the strength to force myself to move. I nodded, taking a deep breath before turning on my heel and approaching the console at the front of the room.  


With a quick tap, my Focus came to life and began to scan the console, itself. I came to a stop just before it as a box in the center of the interface appeared.  


“New files have been recently downloaded and installed. Program recognized as ‘GAIA_1.0.1.3.’”  


My breath caught in my chest for a moment as I read over the name, before I forced myself to inhale deeply through my nose. I closed the notification window and instead focused on the console, itself, the screens coming to life before my eyes with the aid of the Focus. I navigated my way through the various commands and options until I reached the section that showed me the installed programs.  


The one labelled “ELEUTHIA_1.0.1.2” was lit green, with the designation “ACTIVE” showing beside it. Just below it sat “GAIA_1.0.1.3,” but the text was a dark grey and the designation read “DISABLED.”  


I glanced back at the others to find them hovering a good few yards away, each of them nervously fidgeting in their own ways. With a nervous smile, I turned back to the console as I tapped the GAIA line on the screen, bringing up a more in-depth summary in a new, floating box before me.  


My eyes quickly scanned over the various lines that all told me the program was ready to go, but not turned on, more or less, before I settled on the large, highlighted box at the top.  


“Run.”  


I took a deep breath in before reaching toward it with trembling fingers. They hesitated at the last moment, but I clenched my jaw, inhaling slowly as I closed the last few inches, jabbing the button. A new, smaller box opened in front of the previous one.  


“Are you sure you want to run this program?”  


“Yes,” I breathed, tapping the corresponding button.  


The text in the box was replaced by a bar that filled with pulsating, white light before emptying and starting again. Above the bar, a message that seemed to indicate something was actually happening sat, with three small dots after the last word appearing one by one before disappearing and restarting their pattern, much like the bar below them.  


Finally, after several long moments of waiting, the box cleared of all text and motion, only to populate with a single sentence in the center of it.  


“Program boot successful. ‘GAIA’ now active.”  


My eyes widened as I froze, staring at the simple message for several long moments before I summoned the will to reach forward, closing the box and staring down at the console screen that now showed both ELEUTHIA and GAIA in green, with the “ACTIVE” designation beside them.  


I didn’t know what to do next.  


I had come all this way, been so sure about installing these drives, and every step we had to take, but now…  


It was right there.  


She was right there.  


Somewhere.  


But…  


How could I start the conversation?  


What could I say?  


I had to know if it actually worked, after all.  


A moment later, I didn’t have to worry about making the first move.  


A chime sounded in my ear, followed soon after by a voice that stopped my breath in my throat.  


“Good evening, Elisabet.”


	15. I've Got a Confession to Make

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Monday, and hoo boy, I'm excited for this one.
> 
> The ending to the last chapter isn't the only thing going to be addressed, here.
> 
> There are gonna be some bombshells dropped this chapter.
> 
> While some of you may have figured out what was going on already, I figure it was time to confirm a few things.
> 
> Strap in folks, here we go.

I tried to swallow the lump that had appeared in my throat, but it seemed almost impossible for several seconds. Finally, when I managed to catch my breath, once again, it came in a rattling, shaky gasp.  


“Hey, GAIA…”  


“You seem… distressed.”  


I squeezed my eyes shut tightly for a moment as a sound halfway between a sob and a laugh escaped me.  


“Just… overwhelmed.”  


“Query: is it related to Zero Dawn?”  


“In a way, yes.”  


“Query: has there been a setback? I am noting that this appears to be one of the ELEUTHIA facilities. ELEUTHIA-9 to be exact.”  


It was almost too much.  


I should have expected this.  


I mean, I had, but…  


It was so much different in person.  


“GAIA, can you tell me what today’s date is?”  


“Of course, Elisabet. It is Saturday, September 14th…”  


The voice trailed off as I took a deep, slow breath in through my nose.  


“What’s the year, GAIA?”  


A moment’s pause followed before her voice returned in my ear.  


“Elisabet… I… this is most unexpected. There may be—”  


“There isn’t.”  


Silence followed for several long moments, this time seeming to stretch into what felt like an eternity.  


“Elisabet—no… Aloy.”  


A shiver ran through me just before I noticed a faint glowing from the center of the floor to my left. I turned toward it to find that what appeared to be a small circle of light had formed in the center of the space before the window. The ring grew in size until it was a foot or two across. By the sounds of surprise from behind me, I took it that it was not simply a projection for my Focus, alone.  


The ring suddenly began to rise off the floor. As it did, each inch revealed a flurry of colored light particles that materialized from thin air and quickly fell into place, like a massive puzzle, until I realized what was forming. The bottom of the flowing, green dress was easily visible even before the ring had reached the figure’s waist, and hands and arms began to appear.  


A few moments later, the ring had risen to just above my height before coming to a stop. The last of the particles coalesced until the full, dark-skinned figure in a flowing dress stood before us, her eyes closed. A moment later, they slid open, staring straight ahead before she blinked rapidly for a moment. She seemed to recoil slightly in surprise as she took in the other three standing a few yards away, but as her gaze swept across them, it finally landed on me, and her eyes widened.  


“Your face,” she said softly, “I would know it anywhere.”  


A small smile tugged at my lips as I stepped closer, the image of GAIA raising one hand toward me, her fingers coming to rest where a physical person’s would be touching my cheek.  


“But I feel as if I am looking upon it… for the first time.”  


“In a way you are,” I said softly.  


“I apologize, then, for calling you—”  


“It’s okay,” I said quickly, laughing. “Everything around here calls me Elisabet, anyway.”  


She nodded slowly, although I noted how her expression had begun to change. It looked as if she were about to cry.  


“Is something wrong, GAIA?”  


“This… this means…”  


Oh.  


Right.  


“A long time has passed,” I said softly.  


“I know… nearly a thousand years,” she replied, “but… if I do not have my own memories of how this place came to be as reports from ELEUTHIA indicate…”  


I sighed heavily, bringing my Focus interface to life around me and navigating to the section labelled “Speaking Journals.”  


“This… may explain.”  


I transferred the file to the ELEUTHIA-9 network, and almost immediately GAIA’s face registered a look of shock, her hand pulling away from me with a sudden jerking motion.  


“This… you… make sense… finally.”  


If I didn’t feel on the verge of tears, I almost could have laughed.  


I had surprised an AI.  


Stumped her, a bit, even.  


That had to be some kind of new record.  


The image of GAIA closed her eyes for a moment as made the motions of taking a long, slow breath in, even though there was no real function for it. Finally, when she opened her eyes, her gaze fell on me, but her expression had softened to a hint of a smile, once again.  


“I understand now. Pieces of my memories are still inevitably missing, but… I am beginning to create links to fill in all but the largest gaps.”  


The sound of something shuffling from my left drew my attention, only to find the other three still staring on in awe, their eyes utterly transfixed on the woman made of light. Talanah’s expression showed almost a childlike wonder, while Erend’s a somewhat slack-jawed amazement, and Petra’s something like a knowing smirk.  


“There’s some people I… I think you should meet,” I said, turning back to GAIA.  


“Of course,” she said, her image turning to look toward them.  


Seemingly to their total surprise, the image walked forward until she came to a stop only a yard or so away.  


“I apologize for not introducing myself, thus far,” the AI said. “I am GAIA, the central processing Artificial Intelligence designed to control the terraforming system of Zero Dawn, and recreate the world in wake of the devastation of the Faro Plague.”  


Silence continued to permeate the group as I grinned and approached, folding my arms over my chest.  


“You are all descendants of the first children who left this facility, correct?”  


They all exchanged glances for a moment as I cleared my throat.  


“By a very, very long lineage, yes,” I answered.  


“My apologies,” GAIA said, turning back to them. “As you may be aware, I have just recently… woken up.”  


“You don’t say…” Petra muttered, laughing softly.  


GAIA smiled, turning to her.  


“Query: what is your name?”  


“Petra, Petra Forgewoman.”  


“It is nice to meet you, Petra,” GAIA replied, nodding slightly. “You seem… less surprised.”  


“Aloy’s been talking a lot about you,” she said, glancing at me with a smirk. “Plus my craft is working with machines. I haven’t run into any that look like you and talk like you, but…”  


“It is not as far of a reach for you to grasp.”  


Petra nodded.  


“You have an interesting insight, Petra,” GAIA said slowly, nodding. “You remind me of some members of the original Zero Dawn team.”  


“That’s praise, right?” she said, glancing over to me. “It feels like praise.”  


I laughed, nodding as GAIA’s expression cracked into a wider smile before she turned to Erend. He seemed barely able to remember his own name, let alone provide any in-depth answers to GAIA, but at least he had managed to bring his face back to a more neutral, resting expression.  


Finally, when GAIA turned to Talanah, she paused for a moment.  


“You in particular remind me of someone from the Zero Dawn team.”  


A tight feeling appeared in my chest as Talanah recoiled in surprise. For a moment, her image flickered between her normal self and a similar woman with shorter hair, so I forced my eyes shut tightly.  


“I-I… uh… thank you?”  


GAIA let out a soft, humming laugh.  


“Query: what is your name?”  


Once her final introduction was done, the image of GAIA looked over the group, once again.  


“I am incredibly humbled to be in the presence of you all,” she said. “Although I understand that many of the circumstances that have led to this moment are… saddening… I always wanted to one day meet the humanity that was to come.”  


“You hear that? We’re special,” Petra quipped, elbowing Erend.  


He gave her a look as I grinned and shook my head slowly.  


“I feel there is much I need to learn,” GAIA continued, “and I can only assume you will have many questions.”  


“Oh, that’s an understatement,” Talanah muttered, laughing softly.  


GAIA spared me another glance as I nodded toward them, almost as if goading her on.  


“Where would you like to begin?”

  


  


With a sigh, I fell onto the bedroll laid atop an ancient, metal bedframe in the “apartment” I had commandeered on one of the lower floors of the facility. We had all taken one of these spaces shortly after discovering them and realizing that they were relatively intact. They were barely larger than a single bedroom, a bathroom that taunted us with no running water, and a small “living space” that for now remained mostly bare, save for my weapons and equipment lined up against one wall.  


The mattresses had long since rotted away, but the metal bedframes had fared better, and the bedroll atop it was not entirely uncomfortable.  


Not any worse than on the floor, at least.  


I stared up at the ceiling for several moments before a soft chime sounded in my ear.  


“Query: E—Aloy,” the soft voice began, “may we speak?”  


I nodded, but quickly realized that the motion wouldn’t carry over to the voice call and cleared my throat.  


“Of course.”  


A moment later, my Focus interface activated, bringing to life the grid of lines and numbers around me, but soon thereafter, a figure materialized from thin air in the center of the bedroom, her hands folded before her, fidgeting somewhat restlessly.  


“I… wanted a chance to speak to you alone,” the image of GAIA said.  


“I understand,” I replied, pulling myself to a sitting position, “me, too.”  


A small smile pulled at her lips before she spoke again.  


“Query: is this before the—before the end at GAIA Prime?”  


I sighed, shaking my head.  


“After.”  


“Oh…”  


“You want to know what happened.”  


I looked up at the image as she appeared to hesitate for a moment before nodding.  


“After we—after everything was moved to GAIA Prime, it started to seal up, according to plan, but… the Port Seal closed with too wide of a gap.”  


GAIA’s expression rendered something like shock for a moment before it slowly began to fade into realization.  


“Someone had to fix it…”  


“No…”  


“From the outside.”  


The image of GAIA began to shake her head, her eyes closing. Any other person I would assume had started crying, but… well, she wasn’t exactly any other person.  


“So… Elisabet did it.”  


I nodded.  


“Yeah.”  


“Query: where did she go… after?”  


I sighed heavily, rubbing my hands slowly on the fabric of my leggings over my knees as I tried to stop them from shaking.  


“Home.”  


A long silence fell over us before the AI spoke again.  


“Query: did she… do you know…?”  


“How exactly she died?”  


I didn’t have to look over at the image of GAIA to know the answer was yes, but I still took my time answering.  


“At peace.”  


When I couldn’t take the silence any longer, I glanced over at the image as my eyes widened. The images of tears were running down the image’s face.  


I quickly leapt to my feet, but GAIA raised one hand, stopping me.  


“I am… deeply saddened,” she began slowly. “I knew that one day she would die and I… I would be alone, but…”  


“Not like that.”  


She shook her head. I took a slow, deep breath as I closed my eyes for a moment, bowing my head slightly.  


“GAIA, that… that wasn’t exactly… the end.”  


A pregnant pause followed that, where the only sound I could make out was the soft humming of the lights overhead. For a moment I half expected to open my eyes and see the fully functioning, light-drenched office of Zero Dawn, but when I did, I still found the semi-ruined apartment, although the slightly glowing image of GAIA still stood in the center of it, looking to me with a confused expression.  


“When… when that happened… we… I…”  


This had felt so much easier to explain to Talanah, somehow.  


“Let’s say… the relationship between Aloy and Elisabet didn’t end there.”  


The image’s face was unreadable as I could only imagine the processes that must have shot into overdrive as she tried to analyze what I said.  


“So… you are saying… that Elisabet is still— _alive_ —in a sense?”  


I bit my lip for a moment before nodding.  


“I’d say so.”  


The image of GAIA continued to stare back at me for several long moments before speaking, once again.  


“Query: is that why you have made several subtle references to phrases that would seem to be reflective of Elisabet, rather than Aloy?”  


My stomach sank like a rock as my jaw clenched, inadvertently biting my lower lip in the process. I barely noticed the pain, even as I could feel the small trickle of blood begin to run into my mouth. The image of GAIA’s face was unreadable, and she didn’t press any further.  


She wouldn’t until I said something.  


“M-maybe…”  


An expression of disappointment came over the image, hitting me in the chest like the kick of a Strider.  


“Okay, okay,” I said, closing my eyes tightly as I tilted my head forward.  


Every fiber of my being was fighting to stop me from continuing, but I slipped around every defense until the words seemed to pour out of me on their own.  


“It’s me, GAIA… Elisabet… right now.”  


Silence hung in the air, suppressing any background noises and sounds that usually accompanied the nights in the partially ruined facility. After several long seconds, when I couldn’t take the total vacuum, anymore, I opened my eyes, only to find the image of GAIA had moved directly before me, her hand reaching toward my chin. Despite her touch not carrying any physical weight, I tilted my head with her motion, finally looking up into her eyes.  


“I may be an artificial intelligence,” she began softly, “but both of you should know better than to tease me with such insinuations.”  


My chest heaved slightly as a burning sensation came to my eyes, my vision blurring.  


“GAIA, I’m not lying.”  


I found myself instinctually reaching for her hand, only for mine to pass straight through it. Her dower expression lightened somewhat as I raised my hand between us and she met it with hers, stopping where her palm would be pressed against mine, if the touch were truly physical.  


“Do you remember… how I asked everyone to save physical copies of the subfunctions?”  


“Yes.”  


“They got left at Zero Dawn,” I said softly, still staring down at our hands between us, the somewhat glowing skin of GAIA’s standing out against the grime-covered paleness of mine. “I went back for them… Talanah and I. We snuck into the facility beneath an entire city of people who want my head on a pike and got back out.”  


My gaze moved up to her face, once again, a small smile pulling at my lips.  


“And then I made everyone come back here, so I could bring you back.”  


“And ELEUTHIA.”  


“Eventually all of them,” I nodded, “but ELEUTHIA made sense because, y’know, it’s kind of his house.”  


A grin cracked GAIA’s features as mine grew wider.  


“There’s a lot to catch you up on, still,” I said.  


“In time,” she replied, nodding.  


We remained silent for several long moments, my gaze travelling down to our hands, still held between us, once again.  


“Do you remember… what you told me one day, in my office?”  


She looked to me expectantly, but said nothing.  


Of course she remembered.  


She had an infinitely greater “memory” than I could ever hope to.  


“I really wish… this…” I slowly moved my hand through hers before returning it to the same position as before, “was…”  


“Real?”  


I nodded, unable to meet her gaze.  


The image of GAIA’s hand moved from mine to alongside my cheek, once again as I returned my gaze to her.  


“I believe you… Elisabet.”  


A smile began to tug at my lips as her expression mirrored mine.  


“And I feel the same.”  


Our conversation grew much less severe from there, as I felt the weight in my chest lift almost immediately. Time flew by as we talked about the world since her last memories of Zero Dawn ended until the message from the version that had destroyed herself to try to protect the world. While inevitably talks of war and violence came up, GAIA simply asked questions about the basic, factual information to get an idea of the world as a whole, and did not dwell on them.  


When the topic of the machines of the world came up, a wide, beaming smile came over her features.  


“Query: they did work?”  


“Of course!” I said, laughing. “The world outside… it’s gorgeous.”  


GAIA’s smile faltered slightly as I raised my eyebrows.  


“What’s wrong?”  


“I cannot see outside this facility, currently,” she said quietly. “The outer cameras and other monitoring devices have long since become inoperable.”  


“Don’t worry, you’ll get to see it,” I said quickly. “I promise.”  


The image of GAIA stared back at me as her expression slowly lost the hints of sadness that had begun to infiltrate her joy from moments ago.  


“Okay.”  


By the time I was blinking away sleep, I could barely even remember our conversation finishing, but clearly it must have as the bedroom was now empty, and instead of GAIA’s soft voice, my world was filled with a loud banging.  


A groan escaped me as I buried my head beneath the blanket of my bedroll.  


“Aloy, you better open this door in the next five seconds or I’m breaking it down!”  


I remained still for a moment or two before sighing and throwing my blanket aside, quickly rising from my bed and stalking toward the front door of the apartment-like space. As I twisted the holographic lock and the door slid open, I jumped backward. Talanah’s fist swung through the empty air where the door had been a moment ago, a look of surprise registering on her face for a moment before she collected herself, once again.  


“Well, that was unexpected,” she muttered.  


“That I was awake?” I shot back, bracing my hands on my hips as I gave her my best attempt at an unimpressed look.  


“That you actually answered the door to that threat,” she shot back, smirking.  


I rolled my eyes but shifted my position so my arms were folded over my chest.  


“Is there a particular reason you’re banging down my door at this hour?”  


“This hour? Aloy, it’s nearly mid-day.”  


Confusion creased my face as I quickly tapped my Focus, bringing up the interface and checking the date and time function. My eyes widened slightly when I saw that she was right. The time read almost noon.  


“Well then…”  


“I’ve never seen you sleep this late,” she laughed. “Everything okay?”  


I sighed, rubbing my eyes tiredly as I nodded.  


“Yeah, just… stayed up too late, I guess.”  


“Oh?” Talanah shot back, glancing around the inside of the apartment with a smirk. “Doing what exactly?”  


I gave her an admonishing look before shoving her shoulder playfully.  


“No one else is here.”  


“Oh, so a solo party?”  


I shoved her even harder as I felt my face began to burn and knew that it wasn’t helping my case.  


“I see, I see…” she laughed, rubbing at the spot on her shoulder where the heel of my hand had dug into her a moment ago.  


“No, you don’t,” I shot back, sighing as I folded my arms over my chest. “Is there a particular reason you came down here other than to make me feel uncomfortable?”  


“I mean… I was actually a little concerned,” she shrugged. “It’s really not like you, so… I don’t know, just… wanted to make sure.”  


I studied her as she spoke, noting how she avoided my eyes while shrugging and rubbing at her upper arms absentmindedly. It was… not normal for her.  


Not that I had seen, at least.  


“Did something happen?”  


She jumped slightly, confusion creasing her face.  


“What do you mean?”  


“ _You’re_ acting strangely,” I shot back. “Did something happen?”  


“N-no…”  


I raised my eyebrows at her slightly as she sighed.  


“I couldn’t sleep, either,” she began. “Can I come in?”  


I gave her a strange look but gestured inside the room. She quickly slipped inside and the door slid closed behind her.  


“What’s really bothering you?” I asked quietly.  


Talanah spun on her heel, running her hands over her hair in a tight ponytail, pulling the tie loose and letting it fall around her shoulders as she sighed heavily.  


“Yesterday, with… with GAIA,” she began. “I… it… I don’t know what to think of it.”  


My heart rate began to accelerate as I felt a tight sensation building in my chest.  


“O-oh?”  


“Yeah, I mean…” she began, shaking her head slowly before letting out a heavy sigh. “Something about it all gives me a weird feeling.”  


“How so?”  


“Like it’s something I’m not supposed to be seeing.”  


I swallowed at the hard lump in my throat that had suddenly appeared, but it didn’t seem to help.  


“I feel like… I don’t know…”  


Suddenly, a synthetic chime sounded in my ear and Talanah and I both glanced toward the wall to my right. She jumped in surprise at the image of GAIA that had suddenly appeared before us.  


“Talanah, I’m sorry,” the AI began, “I did not mean to cause distress.”  


“I-I… I mean…” she spluttered, seemingly backpedaling on what she had just said.  


“I understand you have hesitations,” GAIA interrupted, raising one hand toward her. “I am not… something you are used to.”  


“You could… uh… you could say that,” Talanah replied.  


“I do not wish to unsettle so,” GAIA continued. “I can limit my interactions—”  


“No!”  


Both the image of GAIA and I recoiled at Talanah’s response, which prompted her to glance between us before staring down at the floor.  


“I—I told Aloy before,” she continued much more softly. “I want to know more, I… I just…”  


We remained silent as Talanah tried to compose her thoughts. Finally, she sighed, lighting her head to glance between us, once again.  


“You both have turned my world on its head from the way it’s existed for the past… twenty-two years,” she began. “I… it’s a lot, but…”  


Talanah finally turned to me, her gaze meeting my eyes for the first time since she had entered the apartment.  


“I want to know more, I just… it feels strange to not have the upper hand in knowing what’s going on.”  


I nodded slowly, my lips pulling into a thin line.  


“I understand,” I said softly, stepping toward her and placing a hand on her shoulder. “You won’t for long, though.”  


Her face still showed the conflict inside her, even as I tried to offer a smile, squeezing her shoulder gently.  


“We’ll get everything fixed, and you’ll see—and learn—so much.”  


Her lips began to pull into a smile, even if her eyes still conveyed doubt.  


“Trust me.”

  


  


Reconstruction had become monumentally easier now that GAIA and ELEUTHIA were both available to help guide it. The first thing we had quickly run into, though, was something I had never thought to take into consideration: storage space. Digital storage space, that is.  


The facility wasn’t designed to house all of the subfunctions and their programming, like GAIA Prime was, so my original plan of action needed to be… revised.  


I rubbed at my eyes tiredly as I paced about the Control Room, trying to slow my thought process down to a point where I could actually understand individual ideas and not just watch the whirlwind of them spin by.  


“How much room do we have, still?” I asked.  


“From my calculations, perhaps one other subfunction could be installed and operated from this facility,” GAIA explained, her image patiently watching me stalk back and forth before her.  


“So… we need to choose wisely.”  


“Correct,” she replied, her image nodding.  


“What would be your suggestion?” I sighed, finally coming to a stop as I turned toward her and folded my arms over my chest.  


“Query: your ultimate goal is to rebuild the entire GAIA Prime and re-establish its systems, correct?”  


I nodded.  


“Then from what you have told me and what I have learned from the recording of—of myself—we will need the assistance of one key subfunction.”  


I stared back at her expectantly, somewhat amused and somewhat frustrated that the AI was evidently now trying to play games with me.  


“Which is?” I finally said when the silence had gone on for several moments.  


“We will need HEPHEASTUS’s help.”  


I nodded slowly, chewing the inside of my cheek as I ran the idea over in my head.  


“Unfortunately, not the HEPHEASTUS that is contained on those drives,” GAIA continued, gesturing to the pile of small, black boxes still on the floor before the console to her left.  


“Why not?”  


“HEPHEASTUS, as it was designed when it left Zero Dawn, did not have the knowledge to fully create the machines you have described, today,” she explained. “Those designs were created by the GAIA program that was installed at the Prime facility.”  


I swore under my breath, spinning on my heel as I began to pace, once again, lacing my fingers through my hair behind my head as I stared up at the ceiling.  


“So you’re saying we need to find the one that’s already existing and bring it back.”  


“That is correct.”  


After I had completed two laps of the width of the room, I came to a stop in front of GAIA, once again, turning toward her.  


“So we need MINERVA.”  


The image smiled, nodding.  


“That was my recommendation, yes.”  


I sighed, letting my arms fall to my sides, once again.  


“And like you said about the outside world from here, this facility doesn’t have the ability to reach out to it, right?”  


GAIA’s smile faltered slightly as she nodded.  


“That is correct.”  


“So…”  


I trailed off, rubbing my eyes tiredly.  


“We need to jack into one of the MINERVA towers to broadcast.”  


“Of the scenarios that I have processed, that would seem to be the most reliable solution I have discovered.”  


“Reliable is subjective,” I muttered, letting out a frustrated huff as I braced my hands on my hips, staring vacantly at the ground to GAIA”s right.  


“Query: have the MINERVA towers been destroyed?”  


“No,” I replied, “they’re… well, the one I know of is just outside a major, modern city.”  


As I looked back up at GAIA, her expression seemed… almost excited.  


“Query: a civilization has developed around the structure?”  


“Not exactly,” I frowned. “They built a city on the mesa opposite it, and while they hold some reverence toward it, the tower isn’t… like, a holy worship site. They, uh, worship the Sun, actually.”  


GAIA’s image looked somewhat surprised, but her smile quickly returned.  


“Query: do you think we will be able to interact with this group of people?”  


I laughed, gesturing vaguely to the large window overlooking the facility.  


“You’ve met one already. Talanah comes from there.”  


The image of GAIA’s eyebrows raised.  


“Really?”  


I grinned, nodding.  


“She’s not the most—devout—of them, but yes.”  


The image of GAIA slowly nodded.  


“I see…”  


Several moments of silence fell over us before I sighed, once again, rubbing the back of my neck as I rolled it stiffly. A month or so of sleeping on stiff beds and floors wasn’t doing wonders for my spine.  


Maybe a visit to Meridian wouldn’t be so bad…  


“There is much to be done before we may go,” GAIA said quietly, bringing my focus back to her.  


I nodded tiredly, yawning as I did.  


“That there is…”  


“I feel… nostalgic.”  


Confusion creased my face as I raised my eyebrows at the image of GAIA.  


“Really, now?”  


“I believe that is the term,” she replied, nodding.  


“Why do you say you feel nostalgic?”  


“I am… reminded of… before,” she said slowly.  


“Oh?”  


“Yes… with you and I in Zero Dawn,” she continued, her image nodding. “We are back to solving problems with the GAIA system, Elisabet.”  


Just then, motion from my left caught my eye and I glanced over to find Talanah standing in the doorway, an unreadable expression on her face.  


“I, uh… remember, GAIA…”  


She hesitated for a moment before seeming to understand my insinuation.  


“My apologies, Aloy,” she said. “I still forget, sometimes.”  


“It’s okay,” I sighed, clearing my throat as I turned fully toward Talanah. “Hey, you.”  


Talanah blinked slowly, seemingly clearing herself of whatever daze had come over her.  


“Hey,” she replied, stepping farther into the room. “I, uh, was just coming to tell you that Petra wanted you to come to her workshop, right away.”  


Confusion creased my face as I felt a tense feeling building in my chest.  


“Is something wrong?” I asked.  


“No, she… there’s something she wants you to see.”  


Talanah led the way out of the control room as the image of GAIA disappeared. We made our way quickly along the row of APOLLO workstations in silence as I found my palms growing increasingly clammy. I tried to rub them against the fur of my skirt, but it did little to help.  


When we entered the wing Petra had taken over for her purposes, we immediately came to a halt. A figure stood in the middle of the open area near Petra’s tables she had taken over, but not the one I had been expecting. Petra stood up straight from bending over one of her tables, a wide grin on her face.  


“Aloy, look, look!”  


She moved around the table and approached the figure, holding her arms out to show it off.  


“I got one of them working!”  


The servitor bot turned to look at Petra, its metal face registering no emotion.  


“Well, say hi!”  


The bot turned back to us at Petra’s gesturing and raised one hand in a stiff wave.  


“By… the… sun…” Talanah said, barely louder than a breath.  


“It took me forever to figure out how everything was supposed to go, but this morning I just, connected two wires and suddenly, this!” Petra said excitedly. “He started moving and seems to have at least a little bit of that ‘machine mind’ you mentioned, Aloy.”  


I slowly began to approach, but Talanah stayed where she was.  


I couldn’t blame her.  


“Has it… talked?” I asked quietly.  


“Yes, but he’s not much for words,” Petra laughed, turning back to the bot. “Can you speak for my friend, here?”  


The bot’s head tilted as it seemed to scan over me until I came to a stop a yard or so before it, staring back at the odd, still somewhat human-looking eyes inside its bare, metal skull.  


“Greetings, Doctor Elisabet Sobeck,” the bot spoke in an incredibly distorted and raspy synthetic voice.  


Petra looked somewhat surprised, glancing over at me.  


“It knows the name of—”  


“Yeah, because I—uh—she helped build this place, remember?”  


My eyes flicked toward Petra, but she hadn’t seemed to pick up on my slip of the tongue.  


“Oh, right, and you’re, like, kind of her,” she said, nodding. “Makes sense, then. Means something’s still working in that metal brain, though!”  


She laughed, patting the bot on its head.  


“Is it… safe?” Talanah called from her spot near the door, still.  


“He’s barely moved since I got him running,” Petra replied, “so I don’t think he’ll be chasing you down, anytime soon.”  


“Oh, that’s comforting!”  


Petra rolled her eyes as I sighed, turning back toward Talanah.  


“They weren’t designed to kill, or anything, Talanah,” I said. “You don’t have to worry.”  


Talanah grumbled something inaudible to us, but slowly began to approach, keeping her eyes firmly fixed on the bot.  


“So now that you got one up and running, are you going to fix the others?” I asked, turning to Petra.  


“Just as soon as I figure out exactly what it was that I did,” she laughed.  


“I may be of some assistance, if you would like,” GAIA suddenly chimed in, speaking through my Focus, and presumably at least Petra’s, too.  


“I’ll let you know if I get too stuck,” she shot back, seemingly no longer fazed by the sudden voice in her ear. “I told you, I’m a tinkerer. If I did it once, I can do it again.”  


A smirk tugged at my lips as I turned back to Talanah to find her still standing a few feet away, her eyes locked on the servitor bot. With a sigh, I turned back to Petra.  


“Keep us updated, okay?”  


“Will do, Little Spark,” she said, noting Talanah’s apprehension, as well.  


I stepped over to the wary huntress and put a hand on her shoulder, causing her to jump in surprise. Once she had recovered, I saw her cheekbones began to turn red, her eyes avoiding mine.  


“Come on, we’re running low on supplies, and we’ve been stuck in here too long,” I said. “Care to join me for a trip outside?”  


She nodded quickly and I grinned.  


“Come on, let’s get our stuff and we can head out.”  


Once Talanah and I had loaded ourselves up with our equipment, and put on the armored portion of our outfits, we made our way to the front door of the facility. As we approached it, a thought came to me and I cleared my throat.  


“GAIA, are you able to connect with my Focus outside of this facility?”  


Talanah paused by the entryway, leaning against one of the small railings that stood in the middle of it, somewhat like a former turnstile, but I couldn’t remember them ever having anything that actually blocked entry.  


“The range for full communication is limited,” the AI chimed in, “but I have also downloaded a small piece of operating software to your Focus so that I may ‘tag along.’ When you return, I will be able to retrieve it and therefore experience it as if I were able to connect to your Focus the entire time.”  


“Whatever works,” I replied, smirking.  


“Have a safe trip.”  


“Thanks, GAIA.”  


As I approached the door, twisting the holographic lock that opened it, Talanah raised her eyebrows at me.  


“You understand all of that?”  


Evidently GAIA had spoken through her Focus, as well.  


“Kinda,” I shrugged. “It sounds like she has a plan so I’ll let her do it.”  


Talanah laughed, shaking her head, but didn’t say anything else. Once the large door had opened, we stepped out onto the platform outside. A quick glance around the room showed that none of the Matriarchs were nearby, so we made our way to the causeway entrance in peace. As soon as we stepped outside into the bright, midday sunset, I heard a chime in my ear.  


“Elisabet… this… it’s gorgeous.”  


GAIA’s voice was slightly distorted and crackly, but still clearly audible as I squinted and blinked repeatedly until my eyes had adjusted and I could see clearly, again. The clearing outside the mountain entrance was also empty of people, but looking up from beyond it, I could clearly see the distant mountains and part of the valley, as well.  


A small smile tugged at my lips as I glanced over at Talanah, who was standing with her eyes closed and her head tilted back. She exhaled deeply before opening her eyes and glancing over at me.  


“I feel like I almost forgot what fresh air felt like,” she said, a smile forming on her features.  


“Me, too,” I nodded. “C’mon, let’s take a walk.”  


Descending into Mother’s Watch, I worried what the inhabitants might do upon seeing Talanah, but as we approached, the most trouble we received were contemptuous glances and quiet mutterings to themselves, but no outright assaults like the first time. I noticed how Talanah kept close to me, positioning herself so that my body was more or less between her and the nearest person at all times.  


A frown tugged at my lips as my hands clenched into fists at my sides, but I pressed on, quickly leading us to the gate. With a quick glance to the Braves standing guard on the parapet above, the gate began to swing open with a low groan. Once it was just wide enough for us to fit through, single-file, we stepped into the Embrace, and the gate began to swing closed behind us.  


A fuzzy, crackling noise sounded in my ear, and I assumed it must have been GAIA, but we had evidently gone too far for her signal to fully reach us. With a sigh, I glanced at Talanah, nodding farther on into the valley.  


“Come on.”  


I quickly lost track of how long it had been since we had left Mother’s Watch. We had set out along one of the well-worn trails deeper into the Embrace, encountering a few Watchers and Scrappers here and there, which Talanah had insisted on hunting. They weren’t the greatest challenge to take down, but it seemed to restore some of her spirit with each one, so I continued to play along.  


When we reached a small pool beneath a waterfall from a sheer cliff face on the side of the mountain on the far side of the valley from where we started, we quickly spotted three Scrappers taking apart what appeared to be a Watcher carcass or two. Talanah had indicated for me to go to the left while she went to the right.  


“I’m going to distract one of them, then when it turns its back to you, shoot off the power cell on its back,” she said quietly. “I’ll finish it off from there.”  


I nodded, keeping quiet and low to the ground as I scurried from cover to cover until I was on the other side of the small stream that led away from the pool and down the hill we had just climbed.  


Crouching in a patch of tall grass, I removed my bow and nocked an arrow, scanning over the three Scrappers before me. I couldn’t quite make out where Talanah had gone, but it didn’t seem as if she had made her first move, yet, as the machines’ eyes all still glowed blue, and seemed focused on the machine parts before them.  


Suddenly, motion from behind a large rock on the other side of the pool caught my eye and a moment later, something bounced off the ground near the closest Scrapper to it. The machine quickly whirled around, its eyes glowing yellow as it stared in the direction of the motion for a few moments. Finally, it began to stalk forward, moving slowly as its head swung from side to side.  


Most importantly, its back was now to me.  


I drew my arrow, aiming carefully for the large power cell attached to the back of the machine, before loosing it. My aim still seemed good despite the lack of recent practice as the tip of the arrowhead slammed into the cell, ripping it clean off the back of the machine to a shower of sparks.  


Its eyes instantly turned red as it let out a mechanical roar that I could hear from my position. The scrapper whirled around, trying to find what had just attached it, but a moment later another arrow slammed into the scanner atop its body, also ripping it clean off. The machine tried to spin in place, figuring out which target to face, but before it could fully decide, I drew another arrow and loosed it toward the glowing, red eye facing me.  


The arrow struck true and the machine staggered and fell to the ground, the lights on its body quickly extinguishing.  


I caught a glimpse of Talanah leaning around the rock, giving me a disapproving look as a smirk tugged at my lips. A moment later, however, a loud whirring filled the air and I glanced to the left just in time to see one of the other Scrappers charging toward Talanah, its eyes glowing a bright red.  


I pointed to it, yelling something incoherent, but she got the message. The Carja huntress quickly scurried around the rock, diving forward into a tight, tucked roll across the ground before popping to one knee. She drew her bow, aiming back toward the Scrapper that was trying to change directions, to follow Talanah, but its weight and momentum prevented it from making such a sudden and rapid change in direction, and it skidded along the ground on its side for a yard or so.  


Talanah loosed her arrow, and it struck the Scrapper firmly in the center of its whirring jaws. The machine shook its head violently, but another quick arrow from Talanah to the center of its forehead laid it still on the ground.  


My eyes travelled to the final Scrapper, only to see its body beginning to glow as its mining laser began to charge. With a muttered curse, I quickly drew an arrow and aimed for the power cell at its back. As the arrow was halfway to its target, the beam fired, and I saw Talanah attempt to throw herself backward and out of its way, but I also noted how her body shook slightly as the beam passed her.  


A split second later, the arrow hit its target and the machine’s laser was cut off, a pained roar escaping it as a shower of sparks sprayed from its hind end. A cry of pain echoed across the open ground to me, this one much more human, and I found myself jumping to my feet, nocking another arrow to my bow. A moment later, I had loosed it toward the head of the Scrapper, but I didn’t wait to see if it had hit its mark; instead, I took off sprinting toward the form of Talanah on the ground across the stream.  


A loud clanging and the sound of a machine’s inner workings slowing to a stop told me that I had hit my target, but my eyes remained on the form of my companion. Once I had hopped the stream and began to approach her, I dropped into a slide across the ground, coming to a stop just beside her as I dropped my bow and placed a hand on her shoulder.  


“Talanah! Fuck, are you okay?”  


She rolled onto her back, revealing that her right hand was clasped firmly over her left, upper arm. Her jaw was clenched tightly, and she didn’t say anything, but I quickly reached toward her injury, prying her fingers away from it to see. A small line of her sleeve had been burned away, the edges singed black from the heat of the beam, and as I examined further, I saw that her arm sported a small gash across it that appeared to have been similarly burned.  


The cut was rather shallow, and no blood flowed from it, as the heat had instantly cauterized the wound.  


“Is that the only place it got you?” I asked, looking back at her face.  


She nodded, sucking in a breath through clenched teeth.  


“That stings… a lot,” she finally managed.  


I let out a heavy sigh, hanging my head forward for a moment before shaking it and laughing.  


“You scared me, you know?”  


I looked back up at her to see a smirk tugging at her lips.  


“I thought you were supposed to be spotting me?” she shot back.  


I rolled my eyes, shaking the shoulder of her uninjured arm as I sat back on my heels.  


“If I didn’t know better I’d say you just wanted me to worry and rescue you.”  


We both laughed, but I noted how a redness began to appear in her cheeks, and she quickly cleared her throat, glancing down at her left arm.  


“Maybe I’ll have a scar, now, huh?”  


“Probably,” I replied, nodding. “You can tell everyone it wasn’t from a Scrapper, and make it sound way more exciting, though.”  


“I’ll say I was attacked by that creepy human-machine thing.”  


I sighed, shaking my head.  


“I told you…”  


“I know, I know,” she sighed, “ _totally_ not programmed to kill me in my sleep.”  


I hit her playfully, but grinned as I rose to my feet and offered her a hand. She took it, using my grip to help pull herself to her feet with a groan.  


“Satisfied?” I replied, clapping my hands before me to try to remove some of the dirt that had clung to them during my slide across the ground.  


“Yeah, I’m good for hunting for a little bit.”  


We collected what supplies we could from the downed machines before wandering off toward a nearby outlook at a leisurely pace. When we finally reached it, we took a seat on the edge, staring out over the barren ruins of a former Nora village that I couldn’t quite recall the name of, at the moment. Just beyond the burnt husks of the huts sat a small lake, and beyond that the open grasslands of the Embrace, leading all the way back to the imposing mountain peak above Mother’s Watch.  


The sun was just beginning to set behind the mountain, and the entire scene was bathed in a brilliant, orange and purple glow.  


I couldn’t help the small smile that pulled at my lips as I stared at the blowing grass in the distance, only for it to falter as I stared down at the burnt wood below us, once again.  


“So, one thing I’d always heard was right,” Talanah sighed, finally drawing my attention away from the ruins to her.  


“Yeah?”  


“The Nora lands really are beautiful.”  


I laughed softly, nodding.  


“You should have seen them before.”  


“Before?”  


“Before it all—before the Eclipse decimated an entire tribe of people.”  


Talanah frowned, bowing her head slightly.  


“I thought Meridian was bad after the battle, but…”  


Silence fell over us for several long moments before she cleared her throat, glancing over at me.  


“Can GAIA still hear us, out here?”  


“Not right now,” I shook my head.  


“So… she’s trapped in that facility?”  


A strange twinge shot through my chest at the thought, followed soon after by a shiver.  


“Not entirely… not for long.”  


“Where was… her original home, GAIA Prime?”  


I sighed, my lips scrunching to one side.  


“North of here,” I replied. “It’s at the top of what I think is called the Bitter Climb, now.”  


“Up near Banuk lands?”  


Talanah sounded surprised.  


“On the cusp, yeah.”  


“But… it’s still destroyed, isn’t it?”  


I nodded.  


“Is there… anything left at all?”  


Images of the ancient, mummified corpses littered about the control room flashed before me and a wave of nausea prompted me to clench my jaw and breathe slowly through my nose, trying my best not to let it rise farther up my throat. Finally, when I felt able to speak, I shook my head slowly.  


“Not much.”  


Talanah looked as if she wanted to say more, but when she saw how pale my face must have been, she dropped it, nodding.  


“So what’s the next step with the ruins we’re in, now?”  


That felt easier to talk about.  


“We need to track down one of the other subfunctions that’s currently out in the wild,” I said.  


“How?”  


“With another one of the ones we have on the drives.”  


Talanah stared at me blankly as I grinned.  


“It’s not quite as complicated as it sounds.”  


“As long as you know what you’re doing…”  


I laughed, bumping her shoulder playfully with my own.  


“We’ve got help now, remember?”  


“GAIA can do that?”  


“She may not have all of the memories and hundreds of years of experience from remaking the world, but she was designed with enough abilities to control the other subfunctions, right away, so she can at least do that.”  


Talanah just nodded slowly and I laughed.  


“She has enough training to tell them what to do, even if she doesn’t quite remember what she’s done, already.”  


“Okay…”  


Not long after, we started making our way back to the ruins, as the sun had firmly sunk below the mountains, and the Embrace was rapidly growing dark. Before we reached Mother’s Watch, the light had faded enough that I actually turned on the Low Light mode on the Focus, just to be safe.  


Just before we reached the gate, Talanah suddenly grabbed my arm, bringing me to a stop as I turned to face her, confusion creasing my face.  


“What’s wrong?”  


“I… I need to ask something,” she said quietly, “away from the others.”  


A lump appeared in my throat as I swallowed nervously, but remained silent.  


“GAIA, it—she keeps calling you Elisabet,” she said softly. “Is that… just like with the doors?”  


My heart stopped for a second or two as I stared back at her.  


I could only hope the darkness helped conceal my reaction.  


Otherwise, it didn’t matter what I said after.  


“Yeah… must be.”  


Talanah stared back at me for several moments before drawing in a long, slow breath through her nose.  


“Okay.”  


She simply nodded and released my arm, but the hesitation in her actions told me much more than her one word answer.  


Fuck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're not at the end, yet. See you next week.


	16. Singularity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Monday, yet again.
> 
> So, as the chapter title may hint, this is kind of a big one.
> 
> I know I've been saying that for the past few weeks, but... I _really_ mean it this time.
> 
> I've actually been super nervous about this one, but my sister convinced me to just go ahead and write it as I envisioned with her words of wisdom: "Be bold, my dude."
> 
> So without further ado, I hope you trust me, and let's get on with it.
> 
> See you at the end.

We made our way to the gate, where the Brave at the top of the fence squinted down at us through the darkness. Once I called out to him, he quickly signaled for the gate to open and we slipped through. The settlement was still somewhat lively and populated, even after dusk, as the Nora within milled about large bonfires that had been set up about the open courtyard. I caught a few of the contemptuous glances in Talanah’s direction, but when they saw me looking back at them, they quickly looked away, hiding their responses.  


Just as we were about to start ascending the trail to the ruin entrance, a loud voice called out from our right and I instantly grew tense.  


“Look’a showed ‘er face for the first’ime since… whenever…”  


I looked past Talanah to see an older Nora staggering away from one of the bonfires nearby, a wooden mug held haphazardly in his hand.  


“Ya had your time’a take it all in?” he jeered, raising his arms wide and spilling some of whatever was in his mug as he did.  


Talanah said nothing, but I could almost feel the tension rolling off her.  


“Or ya sizin’ up wha’s left t’take home?”  


One of the elders’ compatriots attempted to grab his shoulder and pull him back, but the man shrugged him off with more force than I expected. My pulse began to pound in my ears as I moved beside Talanah, prepared to step between her and the man.  


“Well, Murder Maiden?” the Nora continued, leaning toward Talanah as he staggered slightly. “Or you jus’ gon’ hide behind your ‘nointed friend, ‘ere?”  


Just as I opened my mouth to intervene, Talanah beat me to it.  


“I lost my own during the Red Raids.”  


The man let out a dismissive “pssh” sound and waived his mug wildly, spilling even more liquid about.  


“My father and brother dared to speak up against what their people were doing, and they were trampled like those they stood to defend,” she said, her voice calm enough, but the slightest hint of a tremble gave away the true emotion beneath. “I was left alone, with no family, running from the Mad Sun King, when I was a child. I couldn’t show my face around the rest of the Carja until I was an adult.”  


The man tried to laugh dismissively, but Talanah suddenly stalked forward, stopping only inches from his face, causing him to recoil somewhat in surprise.  


“I lost everything… and everyone… I ever knew to the Red Raids. I lost my family, my home, and the feeling that I _had_ a ‘people’ to call my own,” she spat, her face remaining steady within the dangerously close distance she had established. “I know what loss feels like. I know what shame—feels like. Have you ever disavowed your entire tribe—your entire _existence_ —because of something you had no say in, no control over?”  


Both the Nora elder and I were now staring at Talanah with looks somewhere between bewilderment and shock… however narrow that gap may be. Finally, after several long moments, she let out a dismissive huff and backed away, looking the Nora up and down.  


“I thought so.”  


With that, she stalked past me, starting up the trail without waiting for me to follow. The older Nora and I locked eyes for a moment before he swallowed tensely and began to turn back to his compatriots, and I hurried to follow mine. When I caught up to Talanah, she didn’t say anything, nor did she slow her pace. My mouth hung open for a moment, but nothing I could think of seemed adequate for the moment, so I quickly closed it, once again.  


We remained in the tense silence until we reached the entrance to the causeway into the mountain, where Talanah suddenly came to a stop, tilting her head back as she rubbed at her eyes with a good amount of force. I hesitantly remained a few feet away, until she suddenly stamped her foot and whirled toward me.  


“I can’t keep doing all of this for nothing,” she hissed, her eyes meeting mine with such an intensity that I actually felt my heart skip a beat or two. “I want answers… information… and to not be kept in the dark!”  


I began to back away, but she simply stalked forward, until she stood as close to me as she had the Nora in the settlement moments ago.  


“I think you’ve lied to me.”  


“Talanah, I-I didn’t—”  


“Maybe not lied, but certainly not told the whole truth.”  


I couldn’t argue with that.  


Not in the current situation.  


“I’m assuming what you want to install to find that other subfunction isn’t APOLLO,” she continued. “GAIA told us so much yesterday, but you promised answers—real answers. When?”  


As I opened my mouth to reply, she cut me off, yet again.  


“And who exactly are you?”  


My mouth instantly went dry as the sound of the world around me seemed to have been sucked away, leaving nothing but a high-pitched ringing in my ears.  


Talanah’s lips moved again, but I didn’t hear her voice.  


I quickly blinked, shaking my head in an attempt to bring myself back to reality, but as I did, I found that the dark-haired Carja hadn’t backed away in the slightest.  


“So what is it? Aloy? Elisabet? Someone else?”  


I swallowed nervously, trying to regain my ability to speak.  


“Some of both.”  


She let out a growl of frustration, throwing her hands in the air as she finally backed away.  


“It’s the _truth_ , Talanah.”  


“How do I know that?” she shot back, approaching me once again.  


“I know how to hunt, you just saw that,” I began, gesturing back in the general direction we had come. “Do you think a woman who spent her whole life inside working on these AIs and machines would know that?”  


“That—”  


“But then I fixed the AIs in the ruins, here,” I continued, unfazed by her interruption. “A Nora girl, of all people today, wouldn’t know how to do that.”  


Talanah still looked doubtful, so I continued.  


“You saw those episodes in Zero Dawn, so I remember being there… but I also remember the house here, in the mountains, and growing up with Rost.”  


I could feel the heat in my face rising as the volume and pitch of my voice did, as well.  


“I remember growing up on a farm in Nevada, cars, coffee shops, bars, movies, night clubs, universities, but also the Proving, how to strip a Sawtooth for parts, finding this Focus in an ancient ruin for the first time, making my first spear, skinning my first boar…”  


By the end, I could practically feel the heat seething from my face as my chest heaved with each panting breath.  


“So believe me when I say: some of both.”  


Now, it was my turn to step closer to Talanah, stopping as close to her as she had to me moments ago.  


“You’ll get to see APOLLO. Don’t worry. This wasn’t exactly how I saw my plan going, either… but sometimes you’ve got to improvise.”  


With that, I stared into her dark eyes for several moments before she finally blinked, offering the smallest of nods, and I suddenly clapped one hand on her upper arm.  


“C’mon, let’s head back inside. The sooner we do, the sooner everything gets done.”

  


  


With a growl of frustration, I threw my bow and belt on the ground near the wall of the main room of my small “apartment.” My hands quickly found their way to my hair, undoing the ties that held the single braid in place, letting it fall loose around my shoulders before I vigorously ran my fingers through the wild mess that had been left. As I pulled the armored tunic over my head, a soft chime in my right ear gave me a second’s warning before the glowing image of GAIA appeared before me.  


“Elisabet, I detect distress.”  


“No shit!”  


The image of GAIA recoiled slightly and I quickly froze, closing my eyes as I took a deep breath in through my nose, releasing it slowly, as well.  


“I’m sorry.”  


“Query: did something happen while you were away with Talanah?”  


“You could say that.”  


GAIA paused for a moment, before she slowly began to nod.  


“I reviewed the data from your Focus… just before you two entered…”  


“Yeah, that part.”  


“She is amazingly perceptive.”  


“You mean she’s not as oblivious as everyone else.”  


A frown tugged at GAIA’s lips.  


“Query: do you truly think so poorly of the others?”  


“No, I don’t, I—”  


I let out a growl of frustration and swung my fist at the open air to my right.  


“I don’t know what to feel, GAIA!”  


I whirled toward her again, running my hands through my hair.  


“I… I… it’s all so much,” I continued. “Everything just whirling and crashing and colliding inside my head and my chest and… my everything! I just… I’m… I…”  


Eventually I ended up with my back against the wall, slowly sliding toward the floor as I buried my face in my arms, squeezing my eyes shut tightly against the burning feeling that was building in them. I had to get a grip on something. I couldn’t just let whatever this was keep forcing its way out of me and…  


A moment later, I realized that a soft voice was speaking to me, and I tried to slow my breathing, focusing on its tone until individual words became clear.  


“Breathe, Elisabet… take a moment… think through what you’re feeling…”  


I slowly lifted my head, immediately feeling cool air blow against the wet trails down my cheeks. The image of GAIA knelt before me, one hand resting atop my arm. I couldn’t feel it, but I wanted to, so badly.  


“Query: what about this thought has caused you the most distress?”  


I swallowed against the thick lump in my throat, trying to bring my vocal chords back under control.  


“The thought of… Aloy.”  


“Query: what about her?”  


A sob threatened to force its way out of me, but I stopped it at the last second.  


“What I’ve done to her.”  


My voice was barely louder than a whisper, but there was no doubt GAIA had heard it clearly.  


“Query: what have you done, Elisabet?”  


I couldn’t meet the eyes of her image; even if she wasn’t truly seeing me through them, it still felt real enough that I knew I wouldn’t be able to speak if I continued to stare into them.  


“I’ve used her… for my own purposes.”  


“Query: what do you mean by this?”  


“I… this!” I said, suddenly gesturing to my face and the rest of my body. “I’ve used her body, her life, to chase what I want.”  


The image of GAIA’s face contorted in an expression that seemed almost like sadness.  


“Elisabet, do not word it in such a way. You have not—”  


“I _have_ , GAIA!” I interjected. “I’ve been incredibly fucking selfish and… I was too focused on a goal to… fucking care.”  


“Elisabet. Look at me.”  


I finally met the eyes of GAIA’s image, once again, to find a determined expression on her features.  


“I know you. You are not a malicious person. You did what you thought to be right… and while now you are doubting your decisions, you have accomplished good things.”  


A dry laugh escaped me as I shook my head, looking back down at my knees before me.  


“But at what cost?”  


Silence fell over us for several long moments before GAIA actually sighed.  


No doubt another thing she picked up from me.  


“Query: can you tell me how you came to this situation? You have not explained exactly what occurred after the incidents at GAIA Prime.”  


I took a deep breath, still staring down at my knees and not meeting the image’s eyes.  


“When… when things ended, at the ranch,” I began slowly, “I closed my eyes and… saw _her_.”  


“Query: who did you see? Aloy? Your mother?”  


My throat tightened for a moment, but I forced it open by clearing it.  


“Aloy.”  


A pause followed and I assumed GAIA was waiting for me to go on.  


“I… we talked, I told her… that she had to finish what I started—what _we_ started—and then… it felt like the end. Everything faded away, and I was okay with it—more or less. The next thing I knew, though…” I slowly shook my head, once again. “I ‘woke up’ sitting against a tree just outside the settlement at the base of the mountain, here. At least… I could perceive the world and feel things, but… something was different, overall. I wasn’t totally ‘in control.’”  


Another few moments of silence followed as I debated how to continue on in a way that would potentially sound less crazy, somehow.  


“And that’s how it was, for a while,” I finally said. “I could chime in here and there, lend a helping hand if I needed, but… outside of those few brief moments it wasn’t Elisabet ‘in control,’ it was Aloy, but then…”  


I finally looked up from my knees, meeting the image’s eyes, once again.  


“We faced HADES, with the Master Override from GAIA Prime. She—Aloy—wanted to kill it, use the override and rid the world of the subfunction, entirely.”  


I continued to stare back at the image of GAIA for several long moments as she slowly began to nod.  


“You did not, though.”  


I shook my head.  


“I didn’t.”  


“Because you felt you need it, to fix the GAIA system.”  


I nodded.  


The image’s face softened to a smile as she moved her hand from my arm to cup my cheek.  


“I follow your logic,” she said. “While the plan we have discussed, using MINERVA from the drives to try to contact HEPHAESTUS, is a good line of thinking, we are still attempting to use a version of the subfunction that has not spent nearly a century figuring out the Faro encryption codes and communicating with the world and the subfunctions, as a whole.”  


I nodded, frowning slightly.  


“Yeah…”  


GAIA’s image made the motion of running her thumb across my cheek, and a shiver ran down my spine at the dissonance between seeing it out of the corner of my eye, but not feeling it across my skin.  


“We will figure out a way. I believe it.”  


“Just like—?”  


“Just like before,” she interrupted, nodding. “In the end—just like always—it is in you that all things are possible.”  


I let out a wet laugh, rubbing the heel of my hands against my cheeks to try to wipe away the wet trails down them.  


“You really know how to pull at a girl’s heartstrings, you know that, GAIA?”  


The image smiled as I sighed, wrapping my arms around my legs, once again. A moment later, the image’s smile had faded somewhat, giving way to a more thoughtful expression.  


“You wish to make your situation with Aloy right, in your eyes, correct?”  


“Yes, but… after everything we just said, we’re not done here, GAIA,” I sighed. “I… I believe in her, but… I’m worried. I’ve always been the ‘if you want something done right, do it yourself’ kind of person, you know.”  


“I do,” GAIA nodded. “Let me run some research tonight. I will reconvene on this with you tomorrow.”  


Confusion creased my face, now.  


“What are you thinking of, GAIA?”  


She shook her head, a small smile pulling at her lips.  


“Not now. You will find out tomorrow.”  


A laugh escaped me as I leaned my head back against the wall.  


“Keeping secrets from me, GAIA? I trained you too well.”

  


  


I didn’t remember how long it took me to actually fall asleep, but I knew I must have when the familiar image of the towering, blue figure across from the red tower appeared before me and I sighed.  


“Are you ready?”  


The voice made me freeze in place, my vision sliding out of focus as I almost felt myself pulled from my very body for a moment, my other senses going fuzzy, as well. Finally, with a blink, everything snapped back into place, and I realized that the image of the blue figure and the red tower were not as I had first thought. There was certainly something tall and blue on the right side of my vision, but it was much more square and coated in glass.  


My eyes travelled from the sleek skyscraper to the red shape to my left, finding a similarly glass building, although this one was much less rectangular and featured a design that almost looked like it was twisting at the top, where it was lit by soft, red lights.  


Motion from directly beside me caused me to tense up, once again. I could just make out the faint shape of a person out of my peripheral vision, but something prevented me from actually looking. I had a feeling I knew who I’d see, and I didn’t know if I could take it.  


“It’s a big moment, I know.”  


I swallowed thickly and nodded, humming an affirmative.  


“You know what you’re talking about… they will have to listen.”  


I finally turned toward the figure and felt my knees go weak, nearly giving out on me entirely. Samina was standing beside me, her eyes fixed on the glowing skyscrapers as mine had been moments ago, the bright lights reflecting in a swirling kaleidoscope in her eyes. Finally, she glanced over at me, a smile tugging at her lips.  


“I’m right, you know?”  


I could only offer a dumb nod and an unintelligible sound that could have been agreement. Samina laughed softly before glancing down between us. A moment later, I felt something brush against my hand and I looked down, as well. She squeezed my fingers tightly for a moment before looking back up at me, drawing my attention, as well.  


“I’ll be right beside you.”  


I tried to say something in response, but no words came to me.  


Hundreds of thoughts… but no words.  


She looked so young. This had to be FAS. We’d first met at some R&D mixer. Couldn’t have been more than a year before this. She was my go-to project lead.  


And my go-to for other things.  


Just then, the sound of a door opening prompted us to turn from the window, finally facing back into the large conference room. The double doors at the opposite end now stood open as a small parade of people entered. Many of them looked familiar, but even when I could pick out certain parts of their facial features, my mind seemed to go blank when it came to recalling names.  


Finally, the one face that clearly stood out from the rest stepped into the room, talking to one of the blank figures next to him with a big smile on his face. My jaw clenched as I watched Ted take a seat at the head of the table at the opposite end from me with a heavy sigh before clapping his hands together and leaning forward.  


“Alrighty, everyone. We’ve got a lot to get through and it’s a Thursday evening, so let’s get this started. Lis?”  


I cleared my throat, stepping up to the end of the table nearest me and idly tapping my fingers against its surface.  


“Something came across my desk this week that I wanted to bring up,” I began. “Something tells me it wasn’t supposed to, though.”  


Soft murmurs passed around the table, but I kept my gaze firmly focused on the opposite end.  


“Why do you say that, Lizzy?”  


“You know why, Ted.”  


His smile faltered slightly, but he otherwise remained still and silent. Whether I wanted to or not, now, my voice pressed on, reciting a situation that felt as familiar as the faces around the table, but at the same time I had no idea where the words were coming from.  


“You’ve taken my team’s designs and altered them.”  


“Lis,” he said, cutting me off with an exasperated sigh, “we’re all on the same team, here. If you come up with an idea, others have the right and ability to give feedback and suggest new ideas—”  


“You put weapons on them and turned them from tools to save the planet to weapons to destroy it.”  


His mouth hung open for several long moments, the playful expression in his eyes quickly fading to something like annoyance.  


“Lis, FAS has always had our hands in multiple types of projects…”  


“And conveniently you kept me in the dark about this particular one.”  


“Not every project is a ‘need to know’ priority for every employee from top to bottom, you know that.”  


“So what else do we all not need to know, right now?”  


My arms raised to either side, gesturing to the figures about us in the room.  


Ted glared back at me, his jaw working tensely.  


“Lis, I… I think I owe you an explanation… and an apology.”  


My hands began to clench into fists as my arms lowered to my sides, once again.  


“This idea passed with a majority, already.”  


“I wasn’t there.”  


“I… I know.”  


My jaw clenched even more tightly, even as I already knew what the next words out of his mouth should have been.  


“There was also a collective motion to… to remove you from the board.”  


My blood felt like it had reached a boiling point, and I could feel the heat radiating off my face as my chest heaved with each breath.  


“You have a strong voice, Lis, but… well, that’s also the problem.”  


My mouth opened to scream some kind of obscenity at him, but even as my lips moved, I found that no sound left them. A smirk began to spread across Ted’s face as I tried again, summoning as much breath and force as I could behind my words, but still, no sound came.  


“So, you see… I’m sorry, but… we just don’t think that you’re thinking of the company’s best interests when you speak and vote.”  


He began to rise from his seat, pacing around the side of the table as all of the figures remained still and seated, their gazes following his motion as he approached me.  


“And outside of this room, your voice carries a lot of weight.”  


Finally, he came to a stop before me, his hands shoved in his pockets as he stared down at me, a half-smirk that felt much more predatory than playful fixed on his lips.  


“And we can’t have that in opposition to what we’re doing here, you know?”  


He reached one hand toward my face and I twisted away, taking a defensive step back.  


“It’s nothing personal, Lis. Just… good business.”  


Suddenly, something slid across the conference table beside us, although I had no idea where it had materialized from. As I glanced down, Ted spun it slightly so I could read the text on the front.  


“FAS: From Green to Guns.”  


It was a newspaper headline, but… it didn’t feel entirely familiar.  


Something was wrong.  


My eyes slid from the headline to the image below, which seemed to show a photo of Ted and a younger version of myself, both seated on what looked the couch of some news program, smiling and laughing.  


A shiver ran down my spine at the unfamiliar image, but what really drove it home was the text below.  


“FAS CEO Ted Faro and Head Researcher Elisabet Sobeck on the bold new direction: ‘It just had to happen.’”  


“You see? Everyone’s happy, smiling… we’re all in this together.”  


I began to shake my head, clenching my jaw tightly before turning back to Ted. My mouth moved, and I felt the screaming obscenities rumble in my throat, but no sound seemed to come from them.  


“Now, now, Lis, I just said—”  


Ted sighed, throwing his arms into the air as he turned back to the table.  


“Fine, we’ll re-do the vote.”  


Suddenly, the world spun around me and I felt my stomach lurch before it came to an abrupt halt. I was seated, now, facing a circular table with two images floating above it.  


A blue, glowing image of a man with the sides of his head shaved, and the hair in the center slicked back in a strange, almost fauxhawk style stood frozen in place, holding his hands out before him, his mouth open as if he had been stopped mid-speech.  


My eyes drifted to the left, finding a model of a Faro Horus, as viewed from above, hovering before him.  


My confusion only grew as I turned from the holographic images of Ted and the robot, scanning the rest of the space where I had suddenly appeared. It seemed to be a different conference table, where although the area around the glowing images was dark, I could still make out what appeared to be a ring of seats around it, shadowed figures seated in each one. I glanced down to find myself still dressed not in the fur and leather tunic and leggings I had fallen asleep in, once again, but a pair of black slacks and a red top made of some kind of synthetic fabric with a soft, white cardigan over it, the front left unbuttoned.  


It seemed a lot like something I would wear back when…  


I shook my head as I suddenly pushed back from the table, rising to my feet, despite the shaking in my knees making it quite a challenge. As I did, however, all of the heads of the shadowed figures turned toward me, moving in unison. I stared back at them, trying to make out any of their faces, but just like before, my mind seemed to go blank when it came to recalling a name, or even if they seemed familiar.  


“Lis, please sit down.”  


My attention turned back to the images in the center of the table, the blue-hued figure now staring at me with a relaxed posture, an unimpressed look on his face.  


“We’ll open up to questions at the end.”  


I tried to speak, but even as my lips moved, no sound seemed to leave them.  


I was still trapped in this silent hell, it seemed.  


Finally, I gave up, swallowing heavily, and sat back in the chair, moving closer to the table, once again.  


“Now, where was I…?” the image of Ted muttered, grabbing something that didn’t appear in the holographic recording before nodding and placing it beside him, once again. “So, these will almost certainly guarantee the mass extinction of every living thing on this planet.”  


My eyes widened, once again, as he gestured to the image of the Horus, my hands working fitfully over the armrest of my chair.  


“They can command legions of Scarab and Khopesh units remotely, use biomass as fuel, and self-replicate. So, what does the board vote? Yay or nay on the go-ahead?”  


A chorus of voices muttering “yay” sounded around me, even as I tried to scream my answer, but no sound came from my lips.  


“Brilliant,” the image of Ted said, nodding and clapping his hands together before him. “We move into production next week. I’m specifically instructing our egg-heads to code them with no backdoors, not even for us. Once we power them up and close off the programming, they are out of our control.”  


A chorus of clapping and cheering came from around me as I shot to my feet, once again, this time spinning around and grabbing my chair from behind me. A moment later, it flew through the image of Ted, crashing into the figure on the opposite side, as the whole room fell silent. The shadowed images looked to the figure struck by the chair before turning back to me.  


“Elisabet, that is entirely uncalled for,” the image of Ted said. “I gave you a seat on this board because I felt you were capable of rational thinking and action. I’m not only going to have to ask the board to reconsider, but I’m going to have to put a written warning in your file.”  


I continued to glare back at the image of Ted for several long moments before one of the figures rose from their chair at the table and I glanced toward them before pulling a double take.  


“Elisabet, can you not speak?”  


The image of Samina stepped away from the table, moving around it toward me as my feet felt frozen in place. When she finally coming to a stop before me, one hand quickly reached toward my face. Her fingers brushed my cheek and a shiver ran down my spine at how real it felt.  


“Like I said: I’m right beside you,” she said softly, staring into my eyes with an expression somewhere between tenderness and hurt. “They should hear you as I do.”  


A moment later, she leaned in toward me, and my heart rate shot into overdrive as her lips met mine. A warm feeling spread out from the point of contact, quickly shooting across my face and back through my hair. As it reached my feet, Samina pulled away, and I was left panting, staring back into her dark eyes.  


“Yours is not a voice that should be silenced.”  


“What… what good will it do?” I breathed, my voice barely above a whisper, but actually audible. “I just tried and failed twice, now.”  


“All of it,” she replied, smiling. “We all are a part of your work, but you have always been the voice.”  


“God complex much, huh?”  


My head whirled around toward the center of the table, once again, only to find what appeared to be a real, tangible person standing in the center of it, her hands on her hips as she slowly approached us at the edge.  


“Oh, Elisabet, you’re our savior! You can fix this! You know everything! Without you, we are nothing!” she jeered, her tone high-pitched and mocking. “That’s how you always saw yourself, right?”  


“Far from it,” I growled, eyes locked on the girl’s as she crouched down on the table beside me.  


“It’s one thing to lie to others, Lizzy,” she chided, “but to lie to yourself? That’s dangerous.”  


I continued to glare back at the young redhead as she smirked.  


“It just comes so easy, doesn’t it?”  


“No—”  


“Stop—lying!” she suddenly screamed, prompting me to recoil at the volume and intensity of her voice. “For once—in—your—life!”  


“You’re not—”  


“I _am_ one to talk!” the girl growled, suddenly reaching forward and grabbing me by my hair, dragging me closer to the table as I yelped in pain. “I’m you, you delusional cunt.”  


“You’re— _not_ —and never will be,” I spat through my tightly clenched teeth.  


The girl suddenly yanked me even closer, until her hands were gripping either side of my head.  


“You’re still lying,” she chided, her tone now almost sing-song. “Do you remember what you told _her_?”  


She suddenly spun my head to the left, and the image of a young, red-haired huntress and an older redhead in a white jacket appeared in the middle of a small circle of light amidst the black void around the table.  


“Don’t you get it, Aloy?!” the older woman spat, scrambling to her feet and stepping toward the younger woman. “That young version of me, who likes exactly like you, isn’t me. She’s you.”  


The image of Aloy looked confused as the image of myself stepped closer to her.  


“She’s your self-doubt, wrapped up in a neat little package that just shows up to antagonize you when you’re feeling the most vulnerable. Remember every time you’ve seen her? What’s been happening?”  


“I—I…”  


“She shows up when you’re nervous, scared, or confused.”  


A sharp tug suddenly brought my head facing back toward the girl on the table.  


“You were lying then, even.”  


“I wasn’t!”  


“Yes, you were!” the girl growled, shaking my head. “You couldn’t tell her, because then she wouldn’t go through with what you wanted.”  


“I-I…!”  


“I’m a part of _you_ , that you want to forget,” she continued, her voice low and quiet. “I’m the part you wish didn’t exist, but you can’t get rid of… every doubt, fear, insecurity, and frustration led to me.”  


The image suddenly shoved me backward, releasing me from her grip as I collided with the chair, staggering and falling into it as my knees gave out.  


“They all led to the person who would let millions die to accomplish a goal, or to prove a point… that would do _anything_ to succeed, whatever that means to you.”  


The young doppelganger hopped off the table and began to approach me, easily shoving the image of Samina aside as she tried to step between us.  


“Being smart will count for nothing, if you don’t make the world better.”  


I froze, staring up at the slowly approaching image of the young woman, her voice suddenly different, but intensely familiar.  


It wasn’t fair.  


She couldn’t do that.  


“So, you see,” she continued, her voice back to normal as she leaned on the chair, bracing her hands on the armrests as she leaned over me, “it’s _your_ responsibility to fix the world, and _yours_ alone, right?”  


I swallowed thickly, trying to force myself to respond, but she cut me off before I could.  


“And now someone else fucked it up, again, your perfect plan… and you have to fix it. You did your best to create a benevolent utopia, to remake the world into a peace-loving, kum-bah-yah singing hippy commune where everyone would be brilliant and virtuous and all that other bullshit,” she said softly. “Instead, the man you despised in your own life destroyed your precious AI system, and the future humans still committed genocide and waged wars and practiced hatred and racism.”  


She leaned even closer, until almost my entire vision was taken up by her hazel eyes, themselves so familiar, yet burning with a gleeful malice I had never seen before.  


“In your eyes: you lost.”  


A moment later, she had leaned even closer, her lips drawing even with my left ear.  


“And you—can’t— _stand_ —it.”  


She straightened up somewhat, once again, so that she was hovering over me.  


“Am I right?”  


My jaw clenched tightly as I felt my fingers clenching into fists.  


“I know the answer, but I want to hear you say it.”  


“You—manipulative—bitch.”  


An evil smirk twisted her lips before she let out what seemed to be actual, genuine laughter.  


“We are the best at that, aren’t we?”  


I suddenly lunged forward, but before my hands actually made contact with another human being, I found something soft tangled around them. Confusion creased my face as I thrashed about, trying to throw whatever it was aside, before I suddenly felt my balance tip to the right and I let out a cry of surprise when I felt the open air beneath me. A moment later, my shoulder slammed into the hard, cold ground, and I let out a grunt of pain, clenching my teeth as I sucked in a forceful breath between them.  


I blinked rapidly until the bright blues and purples finally coalesced into the shape of walls and a ceiling above me, and I forced myself to take several slow, deep breaths.  


The sound of my pounding heartbeat in my ears was the only thing I heard for several long moments before an electronic chime sounded in my ear, and a soft voice followed soon after.  


“Query: Elisabet, is everything okay?”  


With another deep breath, I began to twist myself to a kneeling position on the floor beside the ancient bed and my now incredibly disheveled bedroll.  


“Yeah,” I managed.  


“You have been sleeping fitfully and woke violently. My deduction is that you have experienced a nightmare.”  


“You’d be correct.”  


With a groan, I rubbed at my right shoulder, feeling where it would most likely bruise in a few hours with a wince.  


“Query: is this related to our conversation earlier?”  


I paused, sighing as I shook my head.  


“GAIA, don’t worry about it. It’s not your fault.”  


“I was not concerned, nor offended, with the idea that it may be related to a topic I approached,” she replied. “I simply want to understand so I can help.”  


“I’m fine, GAIA,” I reiterated. “You know stress doesn’t bring out the best in me.”  


There was a pause before she replied, once again.  


“I do, yes.”  


I finally managed to drag my bedroll and fur blanket back atop the bed before rubbing at my eyes tiredly.  


There was no way sleep was going to come after that.  


I didn’t need to run the risk of seeing _her_ again.  


“I need to go for a walk,” I muttered, turning on my heel and making my way to the apartment door.  


“Query: may I join you?”  


I paused for a moment, hand over the lock projection. Finally, I turned it, the icon turning green with an electronic beep.  


“Sure.”  


As I stepped out into the hallway, the image of GAIA materialized across from me, a concerned expression on her face.  


“It pains me to see you suffer, in any way,” she said softly.  


“We’ve both seen enough of that for one lifetime, right?” I shot back dryly.  


GAIA frowned as my lips drew into a thin line and I turned to my right, beginning to walk deeper into the facility and away from the rooms the others had commandeered. The image of GAIA fell in step beside me, her hands folded before her.  


“Query: how long have you had these visceral nightmares?”  


I shrugged.  


“It’s nothing new now or—before,” I swallowed painfully.  


“I do not remember you suffering anything of the sort before—your episodes.”  


“Well, it was almost like that,” I answered, yawning.  


“Query: it was that realistic?”  


“I could feel pain when someone grabbed me too tightly,” I shot back.  


GAIA glanced over at me, an almost hurt expression on her face.  


“Query: did someone try to hurt you?”  


I breathed deeply through my nose, staring straight ahead at the half-lit hallway.  


“I have enemies, too, GAIA. Always have.”  


“But these are dreams, Elisabet…”  


“Doesn’t mean they don’t exist there, too.”  


The image of GAIA suddenly appeared directly before me and I skidded to a halt before I ran into her, or more accurately walked through her.  


“Elisabet, you are not telling me the full truth.”  


There it was again, that word.  


The truth.  


Implicating lying.  


My jaw clenched as I went to step around her, but the image followed my motions, blocking my path, even though she knew as well as I that it would do little to physically stop me.  


“Elisabet, tell me who, and what, you saw in your dream.”  


I paused for a moment, my jaw working tensely before I finally let out a sigh of frustration, throwing my hands into the air.  


“Multiple people,” I began. “Ted, Samina, and… a version of myself.”  


“Query: what do you mean by a version?”  


“An evil, manipulative version that tries to prey on my fears and worries.”  


“You say ‘tries’ as if this is a recurring person you have experienced.”  


“It is… well, not me, exactly.”  


“Query: what do you mean?”  


“She appeared to Aloy when—when I was merely along for the ride and helping,” I began. “I… I thought she was a manifestation of her subconscious, but… well, she talked to me, now.”  


“Query: and you’re sure that you were Elisabet in this dream?”  


“Yes,” I sighed. “She talked to me as if I was, anyway.”  


GAIA nodded.  


“Elisabet, this concerns me.”  


“Glad we feel the same way, then.”  


“Elisabet, stop!”  


Her tone was suddenly much more forceful than I expected and I froze in place.  


“As you have said… I have already experienced your suffering once, and to see you try to brush it aside, yet again, now is…”  


The AI trailed off, her face showing the conflict she clearly fought to describe as her mouth hung open, yet for one of the first times ever, she remained at a loss for words. Finally, whatever processes that were running at a thousand miles a minute seemed to catch up and she focused on my face, once again.  


“It scares and saddens me, Elisabet.”  


She reached forward, her softly glowing hands coming to rest along the sides of my face.  


“I have spent the night thinking of how to help you… and to hear this now fills me with a deep sorrow that… I can’t describe.”  


I closed my eyes, bowing my head forward.  


“GAIA, I… I didn’t mean to…”  


“I know you are confused, and scared, and lost…” she began, “but I want to help you. If… if the GAIA before could not…”  


“GAIA, that wasn’t your fault, either,” I said quickly, looking back up at her. “No one else could have fixed the port seal… there was no time.”  


“I wish I could remember, Elisabet,” she said softly, her tone almost a whisper.  


“In time…”  


Silence fell over us for several long moments before GAIA lowered her hands, shifting her posture slightly.  


“As I said, I have been working on something while you have been sleeping,” she continued. “I think I may have an idea for how to resolve your situation with Aloy, and hopefully make things right, as you wished.”  


Confusion creased my face as I swallowed nervously.  


“Tell me, GAIA.”

  


  


I paced back and forth across the dark platform, my arms folded before me as I chewed the inside of my cheek slowly. The room was only lit by the faint, blue-and-purple lights of the ancient machinery around me, while the only sound that seemed to fill it was my footsteps on the metal grating. I had lost track of how long I had been doing the same motions, but by the general ache that had begun to settle into my knees and shoulders, I could only assume it could be measured in hours, not minutes.  


A chime in my ear prompted me to stop, suddenly spinning around toward the far corner of the platform. The image of GAIA was already standing there, her hands working nervously before her.  


“We have completed the third trial.”  


Silence fell over us for several long moments before I swallowed nervously.  


“And?”  


GAIA hesitated but her image eventually nodded.  


“The results appear promising.”  


“Promising as in ‘yeah, I think this will work’ or promising as in ‘I know this will work?’”  


Her image hesitated, once again, but straightened up a moment later, her hands falling still as she stared back at me, her jaw set.  


“There is a 92% probability of success.”  


I continued to stare back at her for several moments before laughing and shaking my head.  


“That’s a lot higher than I expected, to be honest.”  


When I met GAIA’s gaze, again, I found she was grinning.  


“Both ELEUTHIA and I have come to this conclusion,” she continued, “so I feel confident in it.”  


“This is correct,” the much more synthetic voice chimed in.  


I laughed, once again, but this time it felt much less amused and much more nervous. My hands rubbed forcefully at my face for a moment or two before I let out a heavy sigh, dropping them to my sides as I approached the image of GAIA.  


“So… how do we start?”  


She raised her eyebrows slightly.  


“Query: you wish to start now?”  


“No time like the present,” I nodded. “I mean… you said you’ve run the tests and—”  


“Okay, Elisabet.”  


I stared back at her for several moments before closing my mouth and taking another deep breath in through my nose.  


“It will most likely take some time.”  


An involuntary, dry chuckle escaped me.  


“Time is the one thing we actually kind of have now, GAIA.”  


A small smile tugged at her lips as she reached toward me, her softly glowing fingers resting along my cheek.  


“I know.”  


With a soft smile of my own, I reached up so that my hand would be over hers, if she had a tangible presence. A moment later, she pulled her hand away, and I let my arm drop to my side.  


“To begin, step inside the chamber.”  


My gaze drifted past GAIA to the true corner of the platform behind her. The incubator pod sat glowing with brighter blue and purple lights than the rest, giving it the appearance of the most functional of them all. As I watched, the top hatch slowly opened, revealing the empty interior of the glass tube, although various displays of text and numbers flashed across its surface.  


With a deep breath in through my nose, I stepped around GAIA and toward the open tube. I paused beside it, running my hand along the edge of the opening, the glass cooler than I expected.  


“Bringing life into this world… and removing it from it.”  


“Elisabet, please do not word it like that.”  


I turned back to GAIA to find her with a look of worry on her face.  


“If you do not believe it will work, we can—”  


“No, GAIA, I… I do,” I said quickly. “It just… it seems so beyond anything we ever thought we’d try to do… or could do.”  


“As I explained, there was research into this prior to the period of the Swarm,” she pressed further.  


“I know, I know,” I sighed. “Bunch of rich assholes trying to find a way to live forever…”  


“And some were close,” she said.  


“But not as close as if they had a super-intelligent AI to do the research for them?”  


I glanced back at her with a smirk and GAIA’s expression softened somewhat, but I could still clearly sense the nervousness.  


“You trusted me before,” I said softly. “Now it’s my turn to trust you.”  


GAIA’s image shifted her position slightly, more worry entering her expression.  


“Query: do you?”  


A pang passed through my chest as I swallowed heavily and nodded.  


“Of course.”  


With another smile from GAIA, I turned back to the pod and took a deep breath before stepping inside. As soon as I had positioned myself so I was more or less sitting with my back against the wall behind me, my knees bent and my feet resting against the flat bottom of the tube, the top hatch closed and I felt my heart rate skyrocket. I pressed my palms firmly against my thighs, rubbing them up and down as both an attempt to stave off the cold, clammy feeling and release the nervous energy that was coursing through me.  


This was insane.  


No one had ever tried this.  


And here we were.  


One thousand years into the future.  


Almost all facets of advanced technology gone.  


And now we were trying it.  


What could go wrong with that?  


“I am detecting incredibly heightened readings of your vital signs,” GAIA’s voice chimed in my ear. “Query: are you sure you are okay to continue?”  


“Yes,” I said a little too quickly, closing my eyes tightly a moment later. “Yes, GAIA. If we don’t go now, I’m going to lose all nerve.”  


She didn’t say anything else, but a humming sound began to fill the tube, along with the sounds of my quick breathing. It began to grow louder and louder until I could almost feel the vibration from the sound in my bones.  


“Query: are you sure you do not wish one of the others to be here?”  


“Not right now,” I said quickly. “Call Petra when it’s just about over.”  


There was a pause before GAIA spoke again.  


“Query: not Talanah?”  


Something strange tugged at my chest and I cleared my throat, shifting my position slightly.  


“Petra.”  


Silence followed for several long moments before GAIA’s voice came again.  


“Please remove your Focus device. It may be damaged during the process if it is still in place.”  


I paused for a moment, before slowly reaching toward it.  


“I will still be able to speak to you through the external speaker function,” GAIA said softly. “It is okay.”  


It certainly didn’t feel that way, but I did as she asked, slipping the device from beside my ear and holding it in my open palm resting in my lap.  


“The scan will begin in a moment,” GAIA’s voice said, sounding much tinnier and synthetic through the external speaker of the Focus. “Query: are you sure about this, Elisabet? There is still time to—”  


“I’m sure, GAIA,” I interrupted. “Like I said, it’s now or never.”  


The hesitation after I had spoken seemed to stretch on for an eternity, but I refused to open my eyes. If I could see where I was, the insanity of it all would be hammered home and I wouldn’t be able to go through with it.  


That’s what I told myself, anyway.  


“Okay, Elisabet. Beginning scan.”  


A soft prickling suddenly appeared at my temples, almost like small static shocks. I could feel my hair beginning to stand up slightly, as well, but still I refused to open my eyes. Several long seconds passed, and I began to notice strange sensations in my limbs. My fingers and toes had the strange, static-like feeling, as if they had fallen asleep. My arms and legs felt heavy, like all of my energy had suddenly been drained and I was about to pass out.  


My heart continued to hammer at a thousand miles per hour, but everything else felt as if it was slowing.  


The prickling at my temples began to grow stronger, a strange heat beginning to accompany it. I swallowed thickly, but my tongue felt as if it filled the entirety of my mouth, and the motion felt incredibly slow and unnatural.  


My eyes had been squeezed tightly shut so far, but I felt the muscles around them begin to relax, just like the rest of my body. Despite this, bright lights and colorful shapes began to flash before me, amidst the darkness. At first, they seemed to be the usual, nebulous shapes and bright flashes that came when I rubbed my eyes too hard, but I began to realize that they were taking on distinguishable shapes after several moments.  


As I tried to focus on one of them, the light suddenly seemed to flare even brighter and fill my entire vision. I sucked in a breath in surprise, feeling my chest heave as the feeling of the glass wall from the incubator pod seemed to fall away from behind me.  


It was like I was left floating in a bright, white void.  


Impossible to tell where I ended, and Elisabet began.  


Wait, that seemed… wrong?  


There was… there was one person here.  


But… it didn’t feel that way…  


No, there had been one.  


One woman.  


In two places.  


Now in none.  


There was just nothing here.  


There couldn’t be anyone, or anything.  


The white light, though, it felt… comforting.  


There was definitely a presence.  


Whose was it, though?  


It felt inviting, but…  


But…  


But…  


There was something more.  


But what?  


But…  


Amidst the void, a figure appeared.  


She whirled around, hair flinging about her head as her chest heaved.  


She was dressed in almost all white: an off-white jacket and light grey slacks, but barefoot.  


There was nothing else around her, though.  


Finally, she came to a stop as she caught sight of something else, something new… the only other thing amidst the white void.  


Another figure stood away from her, hands folded neatly before her.  


The first figure swallowed nervously before approaching, her eyes fixed on the one darker feature amidst the sea of white.  


“GAIA…?”  


The darker figure smiled, nodding slowly.  


“Does this… does this mean it worked?”  


She paused, her hands working nervously before her, now.  


The first figure came to a stop just before the other, her eyes wide as her chest continued to heave with each breath. They stared at each other for several long moments before GAIA raised one hand before her. She stared at it for several moments before raising her own.  


As soon as their palms touched, the redhead let out an audible gasp, shaking as if she had been physically struck. GAIA’s eyes widened slightly, as well, before her lips began to crack into a wide smile.  


“You tell me, Elisabet.”  


The redhead slowly moved her hand from GAIA’s, running it along her arm, her fingers light across her skin as she traced it to her neck, and then up to her face.  


“Please tell me,” she breathed. “I need to know.”  


GAIA’s hand slowly slid alongside the redhead’s cheek and she made a sound almost like a whimper as her lower lip began to tremble.  


“I believe so.”  


Elisabet let out a sound halfway between a sob and a laugh as she gently ran her fingers across GAIA’s cheekbone, while her thumb gently ran across the redhead’s cheek, as well.  


“I have wished this moment could occur… for so long.”  


The redhead nodded, the inside corners of her eyes growing watery.  


“Me, too…”  


A moment later, she had stepped forward, throwing her arms around the other woman, her grip tight. GAIA returned it, her grip as strong as, if not more so than, Elisabet’s. They remained in their embrace for several long moments as the bright light around them began to dim, while spots of color began to bloom, as well. Finally, when they pulled apart, the void was no longer a featureless, white expanse, but what appeared to be a dome of faint, purple lines amidst a brilliant starfield.  


Elisabet looked around, her widened eyes reflecting the stars and lights in them.  


“Where is this?”  


“It is technically nowhere,” GAIA began, “but it is more pleasing to look at than the blank white, no?”  


Elisabet turned back to GAIA, her eyes still wide.  


“This is… inside…?”  


She nodded and the redhead let out a shaky, shuddering breath as she looked down at herself, raising her hands before her.  


“So that means I’m…”  


She continued to nod slowly as the redhead ran her hands over her face and back through her hair.  


“It worked…”  


GAIA’s face cracked into a full smile as she laughed.  


“Yes, Elisabet. I do believe it has.”  


The redhead let out a nervous laugh as she held her arms out before her. A moment later, the white jacket changed, moving in a wave up her arms from her wrists until it had completed passed over her. With another laugh, she looked down at herself, examining the red Carnegie-Mellon sweatshirt and jeans she now stood in.  


“That’s trippy.”  


She looked back up at GAIA, who continued to beam at her.  


“Has there been any major issues, already?”  


GAIA shook her head.  


“Systems are stable and I do not report any issues with storage.”  


Elisabet nodded, continuing to laugh.  


“I will teach you how to know such things, yourself,” she added. “In time.”  


“Like I said, GAIA—”  


“The one thing we have is time.”  


Elisabet nodded, finally letting her arms fall to her sides as she cleared her throat.  


“What about vital signs? Everything still good?”  


“Vitals are steady,” GAIA nodded.  


“What about…?”  


“Scans also indicate higher brain functions are normal, as well.”  


“So… she…?”  


“It would seem so,” GAIA nodded. “Aloy is alive.”  


Elisabet let out a heavy sigh, running her hands back through her hair.  


“Call Petra, then. She can’t wake up alone.”  


A small hint of sadness crossed GAIA’s face, but she nodded.  


“I understand.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... yeah.
> 
> This was a point I had always envisioned for this story, pretty much from back when I first thought of these stories as a series, and not just Duality on it's own, and I'm both excited and nervous that it finally happened/is happening.
> 
> This story certainly isn't over yet, but we've certainly reached a turn.
> 
> I'll see y'all next week.


	17. It's Good to Be Back

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Monday y'all.
> 
> I'm so glad everyone seemed more or less on board with the "twist" at the end of the last chapter. I was super nervous that it was going to be "too much" but evidently it works just enough for the majority, so let's continue on with it.
> 
> Y'all know what was gonna have to happen this chapter.
> 
> Les' go.

The sound of the holographic lock opening echoed about the large room just before the doors slid open with a heavy, pneumatic hiss. The light from the main room of the ELEUTHIA facility spilled onto the platform as footsteps quickly replaced the sounds of the door. The incubator pod continued to be one of the only sources of light on it, however, as the figure from the doorway approached it.  


As she reached the pod and leaned in toward the glass, she sucked in a breath through her teeth.  


“By the forge, what happened to her?”  


“She is okay, but she will be disoriented.”  


“From what, exactly? That doesn’t entirely sound like ‘okay’ to me.”  


There was a moment’s pause before the AI continued.  


“She has been suffering from strong, debilitating nightmares,” she explained. “I have researched methods utilized by the society that came before to try to remedy them.”  


“Like what?”  


“It is… complicated.”  


Petra laughed, shaking her head.  


“Try me.”  


“It is a method known as ‘cognitive restructuring,’” she began.  


“Cogna-what now?”  


“It is essentially using means of electromagnetism and electrical currents to attempt to resolve imbalanced sections of the brain.”  


Petra stared blankly at the glass surface of the pod for several moments before shaking her head quickly.  


“I… uh… I have no idea what any of that means.”  


“As I have said, she is safe as a result,” GAIA replied, “but will likely feel disoriented.”  


“Well, you’re messing with her mind apparently, so…”  


“None of this was against her will.”  


Petra bit her lower lip for a moment as she stared down at the young huntress, seemingly asleep in the pod.  


“If you say so…”  


“Can you please assist in guiding her as she wakes?”  


“How do you need me to help, exactly?”  


“I… I want to make sure she has a familiar face with her.”  


Petra nodded, placing one hand on the glass of the pod and tapping her fingers slowly.  


“So I wait here until she wakes?”  


“Query: if you would be able, could you return her to her room?”  


Petra smirked.  


“Called the big guns, then, huh?”  


“I had specific reasons for contacting you.”  


Petra laughed heartily as she nodded.  


“Aye, you’ve stroked my ego enough,” she sighed. “How do I get her out?”  


“I will open the pod for you.”  


With that, a section of the glass tube began to swing open. Petra waited until it had swung to its full height before stepping to the edge of the opening and crouching down. After several moments of grunting and struggling, she managed to maneuver her hands beneath the huntress and lift her free of the pod.  


The girl’s head rolled to one side and Petra carefully adjusted her position in her arms, folding her slightly so that her head was resting against her chest and not simply hanging freely past her arm.  


“She’s out cold,” Petra remarked.  


“She may take some time to wake,” GAIA confirmed. “Query: would you remain with her until she does?”  


She made a grunting sound in the affirmative as she adjusted the position of the girl in her arms, once again.  


“Thank you, Petra.”  


“Don’t mention it,” she muttered, but began to make her way back toward the main area of ELEUTHIA.  


Several minutes later, she opened the door to the apartment and carefully carried the redhead through the doorway, taking care not to bang her head or feet on the doorframe. Once inside, the lights flickered on and the door slid closed behind her. Petra made her way past the equipment and clothing strewn on the floor of the main room and into the small bedroom to her right.  


The bedroll atop the frame of the ancient bed looked somewhat in disarray, prompting a frown from Petra, but she approached, anyway. With a sigh of exertion, she carefully laid the young huntress atop it, only to hear a soft clattering by her feet. She glanced down to find a Focus lying on the floor beside her left foot. She crouched down, grabbing it before glancing back up at Aloy to find that hers wasn’t in its usual place.  


“Strange…”  


“She removed it before the procedure, to prevent damage.”  


Petra made a “huh” sound before laying it on a small shelf built into the wall near the head of the bed.  


A moment later, she tugged the fur blanket from beneath Aloy’s legs and pulled it over her, tucking it around her shoulders.  


The girl remained as still as ever, but her chest gently rose and fell, giving the telltale sign that she was still alive. Petra brushed her hands against the striped fabric of her pants before turning back toward the door to the bedroom.  


“Query: where are you going?”  


“To get my own bedroll,” she replied. “Easy, GAIA, I’m coming back.”  


She gave one last quick glance back toward the unconscious huntress before quickly slipping out of the apartment and making her way toward her own. Once she had retrieved her own bedroll and blanket, she returned to the redhead. Spreading her things out on the ground beside the bed, she laid atop them with a sigh.  


“GAIA, she’s not… sick, is she?”  


“No, Petra,” GAIA replied. “As I said, the process can drain a lot of energy, rendering the patient in a deep sleep.”  


A small frown tugged at Petra’s lips as she stared up at the shape of the girl’s arm at the edge of the bed, but she otherwise remained silent.

  


  


When the redhead’s eyes finally began to flutter open, she was immediately met by a blurry wash of blue and purple lights. She continued to blink as the world seemed to focus, but every few seconds it seemed to blur again, only to snap back into place. Shortly thereafter, a soft groan escaped her lips as she closed her eyes and reached toward her forehead, rubbing it slowly with the heel of one hand. Once she had lowered her arm, laying her hand on her chest, she tried to focus on the lights overhead.  


After a few seconds, confusion creased her face, which quickly turned to something almost like disbelief as she slowly raised her hand before her. Her fingers were noticeably shaking, but she quickly clenched them into a fist, squeezing as tightly as she could until half of her fingers, themselves, had turned white.  


Finally, when she released her vice grip, she stared at the small indents in her palm from where her nails had dug in a moment ago. None of them bled, but each radiated a soreness that slowly seemed to seep up her arm.  


Suddenly, her head whipped to one side, staring at the wall to her left, before she whirled around the opposite direction, staring blankly at the far wall for a few moments before she quickly tried to pull herself to a seated position, only to gag as a wave of nausea came over and the splitting headache returned. She fell onto her side, breathing deeply through her nose as she tried to push the feeling of bile back down her throat.  


Once the feeling had faded to a manageable level, she tried to refocus her vision and found that she was not alone in the room. A figure was lying on a bedroll below her, turned away from her toward the far wall.  


Confusion creased the redhead’s face for several moments before realization seemed to dawn on her and she blinked rapidly, wiping at her eyes.  


“P-Petra…?”  


Her voice was incredibly raspy and barely louder than a whisper, so she attempted to clear her throat and try again.  


“Petra?”  


The figure shifted, eventually rolling onto their back with a yawn. They locked eyes for a moment before Petra suddenly sat bolt upright.  


“Little Spark, you’re awake!”  


“What… where am I?”  


“Your room in the mountain,” she said, dragging herself to a kneeling position beside the bed.  


“How did I… get here?”  


“I carried you here. You were out cold.”  


“I… was?”  


Petra nodded.  


“GAIA said you did some kind of fancy Old One thing because you were having nightmares?”  


The redhead’s eyes suddenly widened as her breathing quickened.  


“You’re… you’re not a nightmare… right?”  


Confusion creased the older woman’s face, but it quickly turned to concern as she shuffled forward, laying the back of her hand on the girl’s forehead.  


“No, I reckon I’m not,” she said. “You’re cold and sweaty. GAIA, I thought you said she wasn’t sick?”  


A pause followed as Petra continued to look concerned, although her lips also began to twist into a frown. The girl stared back at her in confusion for a moment before Petra let out an “oh” and quickly climbed to her feet, reaching for something at the head of the bed. A moment later, she held a small, metal device in her face.  


“This fell out when I brought you in here.”  


She stared at the Focus device for several long moments before taking it with shaking fingers, turning it over several times before swallowing nervously and slipping the device beside her ear. A moment later, the interface came to life around her, quickly revealing a softly glowing figure standing in the doorway.  


“Aloy, I’m glad to see that you’re awake.”  


She stared at the glowing woman for several moments with wide eyes as her chest began to heave faster and faster.  


“Is this… just another dream?”  


Both Petra and GAIA frowned slightly, the former glancing at the image of the AI and confirming that apparently she was projecting herself to both of them.  


“I do not believe you are dreaming, no.”  


Aloy quickly sat up in the bed fully, disregarding the nauseous feeling that rolled over her, once again. She threw aside the blanket over her legs and quickly ran her hands up and down them before running them over her arms, as well, pinching them in several places.  


“GAIA… what happened to her?”  


“I did warn that she would be disoriented…”  


“No, GAIA, what _did_ happen to me?”  


Aloy’s tone was suddenly biting and much more intense than either of the other figures expected, clearly, as they recoiled at her outburst.  


“Query: to what are you referring?”  


“You know,” Aloy growled. “Where is _she_?”  


Petra looked between the two of them with an expression that conveyed how hopelessly lost she seemed to be.  


“What are you talking about?” she finally asked, her question seemingly directed at both Aloy and GAIA.  


“Petra, could… could you please give Aloy and me a moment alone?” GAIA asked.  


“No, she stays,” Aloy spat, one hand shooting out to grab Petra’s arm.  


“By the forge, GAIA, what happened to the poor girl?” Petra demanded, as well, glancing down at Aloy before placing one hand over the girl’s, protectively.  


The image of the AI looked uncomfortable, before glancing to her right. A moment later, a figure began to materialize in the empty floor space at the foot of the bed. Much like when GAIA had first appeared, a ring of light began to rise from the floor, glowing particles of light flying into place behind it, until the image of a person truly began to take shape.  


A moment later, Petra’s eyes widened, while Aloy’s grip only grew more firm, as the image of the figure became complete.  


“But… how…?”  


She glanced down at the girl beside her before turning back to the glowing image of the nearly identical figure before her.  


“I… I think I should introduce myself.”  


Petra nodded.  


“I think you should.”  


The image of the woman cleared her throat as Aloy’s glare scanned over the familiar set of hazel eyes beneath red hair somewhat shorter than her own. Before the image could speak, though, Aloy’s voice spat her name, her tone carrying more venom than any of the other women had heard before.  


“Elisabet Sobeck.”  


Petra glanced between the image and the girl beside her for several long moments, blinking slowly until she suddenly began to shake her head more purposefully.  


“ _I’m_ still sleeping,” she muttered, rubbing one temple with her free hand.  


“You’re not, Petra.”  


“No, I must be,” she snapped, “because everything I’ve been told and seen has said that Elisabet Sobeck is dead, and she…”  


She looked the image up and down, once again.  


“She’s like GAIA, a machine brain,” she said, scanning over the image of the redhead one more time before turning back to the one of GAIA. “If I had to say it as I see it… I’d say you’re either playing a strange trick, or she’s some part of you.”  


“I’m not… not exactly,” the image of Elisabet said, returning the Oseram’s attention to her. “I… I am not a part of GAIA, nor a creation of hers. I… was not always like this…”  


“No, because you have not appeared to speak to us so far,” Petra interrupted.  


“I… have… in a way.”  


Petra let out a growl of frustration, shaking her head.  


“Someone needs to start talking in a way that makes sense, right now.”  


“You’ve talked to her, already,” Aloy suddenly chimed in, “whenever you’ve talked to me… since the battle at Meridian until now.”  


That didn’t seem to help Petra’s confusion, as it was now directed at Aloy, instead.  


“She kept me locked up… inside my own head,” the redhead continued, her voice low and absolutely filled with vitriol. “She said she was _helping_ … but I couldn’t speak, couldn’t move… just watched my own body do what someone _else_ wanted it to.”  


The image of the older redhead looked like she was about to cry, and GAIA was wearing a hurt expression, of her own.  


“So I’ll ask again… what—did—you—do to me?!”  


Aloy’s voice had risen to a scream by the end of her sentence, and she tried to leap to her feet, as well, but she immediately looked unsteady and fell back onto the bed, gagging for a moment before she leaned forward and promptly vomited on the floor. Petra recoiled in surprise before quickly rushing forward, taking a seat beside the girl and placing a hand in the center of her back.  


“Easy…”  


Aloy coughed several times before wiping at her mouth with the back of her hand, slowly looking back up at the image of Elisabet.  


“Answer… me…”  


The image of Elisabet made the motion of swallowing and taking a deep breath before continuing.  


“I’m sorry, Aloy, I… didn’t mean for—everything—to happen the way it did. I… I didn’t know what I was doing, either…”  


“Bullshit!”  


The other three recoiled at the strength that had suddenly returned to Aloy’s voice.  


“You knew what you were doing… at the Spire… when we tried to kill HADES…”  


“ _You_ tried to kill HADES,” Elisabet interjected, her tone betraying a hint of irritation. “I told you that we couldn’t—”  


“And now I know why,” Aloy spat. “You want to use it, too.”  


Petra suddenly stiffened, staring down at the young redhead beside her before clearing her throat.  


“What do you mean by that, Aloy?”  


She looked over at Petra, her jaw clenched before jabbing one finger in the vague direction of the image of Elisabet.  


“She… she was in my head,” she began. “Everything you’ve heard about me so far is true—the re-instantiation of Elisabet Sobeck and all of that—but we shared more than just being made from the same pieces. Somehow… we were able to share minds. I saw her life, and she saw mine… and then… the original body of Elisabet Sobeck died, but… not all of her.”  


Petra’s hand had begun to slowly fall from Aloy’s back as she spoke, her face paling, as well.  


“She was there like… like a conscious… a second voice in my head, but then…”  


She suddenly whirled back toward the image of Elisabet.  


“We went to stop HADES from killing everyone and everything… and she stopped me.”  


Aloy began to rise to her feet, slower this time, but Petra made no moves to stop her, she just stared at her with the same pale, blank expression.  


“She saved it, locked it up in that override tool on the spear,” she continued, finding her footing, albeit still unsteadily for the moment. “She wants to use it to ‘fix’ things. Tell me… what are you going to ‘fix’ with something that’s only purpose is to destroy?”  


“My plan is not to use it like a tool, Aloy,” Elisabet interjected. “It’s to study it. Learn from it.”  


“In case you need to repeat what happened before?”  


The image of Elisabet froze for a moment, a strange expression crossing her face before she continued, her tone much quieter.  


“What do you mean by that, Aloy?”  


“Mother of the apocalypse, another time around?”  


The image of Elisabet actually seemed to stagger, as the one of GAIA winced, gently placing one hand to the side of her head, over her right temple.  


“Aloy… you know better than that…”  


“Do I?” she spat. “I don’t think I knew you at all before… but now… I’ve had a lot of time to get to know you… the _real_ you… deep down.”  


The older redhead began to shake her head.  


“You talked to _her_ , didn’t you?”  


“It doesn’t matter what she said,” Aloy growled. “It’s what she _showed_ me.”  


“She’s lying.”  


“Funny… that’s what she said about you.”  


Silence fell over the room for several long moments, with Petra and GAIA simply staring between the two redheads with varying degrees of surprise and disbelief on their faces. The silent tension lasted for several, interminable seconds before a loud pounding suddenly caused everyone to jump in surprise.  


Aloy looked around in confusion, while Petra looked past GAIA, toward the front door of the apartment. They waited a moment or two before the pounding came again, followed by a voice.  


“Aloy, is everything all right?! Open up!”  


Petra’s eyes widened slightly as she turned back to the strange ensemble before her. Aloy was staring toward the door to the other room, her eyes somewhat glassy, while the image of Elisabet suddenly looked very nervous.  


“I think maybe now is not the time—”  


“You _stay_!” Aloy suddenly snapped, whirling toward the image of Elisabet. “The others need to know, too.”  


She looked uncomfortable, but the image of Elisabet remained, glancing toward GAIA.  


“Perhaps we should have this discussion in the main control room,” GAIA offered.  


“Fine, but when we get there, you better be there, too,” Aloy growled, jabbing a finger at the image of Elisabet.  


With that, and following another round of more frantic pounding, Aloy made her way to the door, weaving and staggering somewhat, almost as if she were drunk, but brushing aside Petra’s offer to help. When she finally reached it, she twisted the holographic lock, the door sliding open with a loud hiss.  


Erend paused mid-swing toward the door, a look of surprise registering on his face for a moment before it quickly turned to concern.  


“Aloy, is everything all right?” he asked. “We heard screaming and shouting.”  


His gaze moved over her shoulder for a moment before returning to her face as she sighed.  


“Yes and no,” she said. “I’m not hurt or dying, but… well, there’s some things you need to know.”  


Confusion creased his face as he glanced off to his right. Aloy followed his gaze and found Talanah standing a few feet away, looking equally as concerned as Erend, but when she caught the redhead’s gaze, her eyes quickly flicked down toward the floor.  


“Aloy, what’s going on?” Erend asked, bringing her attention back to him, his voice nearly a whisper. “It doesn’t have something to do with Petra, does it?”  


She shook her head.  


“No, she’s… it’s not her.”  


He looked no less confused, but nodded.  


“So… what’s wrong?”  


“Let’s go to the control room.”  


“Why not here?”  


“GAIA asked.”  


Erend raised one eyebrow and Aloy sighed, rubbing at her eyes tiredly.  


“There’s a lot I… I need to tell you.”  


Silence fell over them for several long moments before the sound of Talanah clearing her throat broke it.  


“Well, let’s get to it, then,” she said. “You’ve put us on edge already. No point in dragging it out, right?”  


Aloy gave her a strange look for a moment before nodding.  


“Right.”  


Several minutes later, the four human inhabitants of the facility stood at the front of the control room, before the large window. Aloy had wrapped herself in the fur blanket from her bedroll, and Erend eyed her pale complexion with concern.  


“Okay, so… we’re here,” Talanah said, glancing around the room. “What now?”  


A moment later, all of their Focuses activated and the image of GAIA appeared in the center of the room before them, her hands already wringing nervously before her.  


“Thank you for coming,” the AI began. “I’m sure you’re very confused, Erend and Talanah.”  


They both nodded.  


“There has… there has been a recent turn of events that have… changed things.”  


They looked no less confused or concerned as Aloy sighed.  


“Where is she? I said—”  


“I’m here.”  


A moment later, the image of the older redhead faded into existence beside GAIA and Erend and Talanah both recoiled in surprise. Erend quickly looked between the two women as Talanah simply stared blankly at the new image beside GAIA.  


“What is this?” he asked suddenly. “Why is there a—a machine version of Aloy?”  


“I am not Aloy, actually,” the image stated. “I am Elisabet Sobeck.”  


He stared back at her for a moment or two before laughing and shaking his head.  


“It’s a nice trick,” he said before glancing between Aloy and GAIA. “What is this, really?”  


Aloy’s jaw was clenched tightly, her lips drawn into a thin line as she slowly shook her head.  


“No trick.”  


He stared at her incredulously before shaking his head faster.  


“What are you saying this is, then?”  


The image of Elisabet sighed and launched into a somewhat simplified explanation of events, primarily detailing the unique relationship between her and Aloy. When she had finished, Talanah suddenly whirled toward Aloy, a look somewhere between surprise and revelation on her face.  


“Wait, so when you said that you were ‘some of both’…”  


Aloy stared back at her with a look of confusion for a moment before Talanah’s eyes widened further and all remaining color drained from her face.  


“Aloy… what you said outside… last night…”  


The younger redhead still looked confused as the dark-haired woman slowly turned back to the image of Elisabet, whose face obviously bore the signs of an internal struggle.  


“ _I_ meant it.”  


Talanah slowly began to shake her head, pressing her fingers to her temples.  


“No, no, no, no…”  


“I didn’t mean to—”  


“Stop!”  


Talanah’s voice echoed in the control room for a moment or two after her sudden outburst, the other figures all staring at her in a momentarily stunned silence.  


“Do you… remember…?”  


A few of the others glanced at each other in confusion before Talanah finally turned toward Aloy.  


“What do you remember?”  


The redhead’s eyes glazed over for a moment before she cleared her throat, blinking rapidly and bringing the alertness back to her expression.  


“I remember most of the time between Meridian and now, but… some of it is almost like… like a dream,” she said quietly. “I think I remember things… but some of the details are missing.”  


“Do you remember talking last night?”  


Aloy blinked slowly back at her.  


“As in… you and I talking?”  


Talanah let out a shaky sigh as she slowly began to shake her head.  


“You don’t…”  


Aloy’s lips pulled into a thin line.  


“I’m sorry.”  


Talanah ran her hands through her hair as she began to pace about in front of one of the consoles along the wall, her gaze distant and seemingly fixed on the ground a foot or two in front of her.  


“Hold on, so… all of this… you’re being serious?” Erend asked, looking to Aloy, and not the image of Elisabet.  


She nodded and he let out a short, dry laugh.  


“This… The machine mind who saved the world, the death of the Old Ones, and your birth were all one thing, but this…”  


He shook his head, beginning to turn on his heel.  


“I need a minute.”  


“Wait!”  


Erend seemed to ignore her, stalking toward the door and quickly exiting back onto the top row of the APOLLO workstations. With a glance back toward the images of GAIA and Elisabet, Aloy quickly followed after him. She quickly caught up to Erend, who was still moving between the workstations, rubbing his eyes tiredly and muttering under his breath.  


“Erend, wait!”  


He glanced back at the sound of her voice, but didn’t stop.  


“Erend!”  


When she caught up to him, she suddenly reached out with one hand, the other still gripping the blanket about her tightly, and grabbed him by his sleeve, yanking on it hard enough that he was partially spun around, and finally came to a stop.  


“Listen to me, please!”  


He stared back at her for several moments before swallowing and nodding dumbly. With a sigh, Aloy released his arm and grabbed the Focus from beside her ear, turning it over in her fingers before holding it at her side.  


“Take yours off, too.”  


Confusion creased his face, but he did as she asked.  


“I don’t want them—or primarily _her_ —listening in so easily.”  


“What are you talking about now, Aloy?” he sighed. “First you tell me that you’re a copy of a woman who died a thousand years ago, now there’s an image of her speaking to us in that room, saying that she didn’t die but was somehow a part of you.”  


“Yes, and… that’s all true,” she said quietly.  


He laughed, shaking his head.  


“That’s insane, Aloy!”  


“How do you think I feel?!”  


He paused, staring back at her as her jaw clenched tightly, her eyes burning with something dark.  


“Erend, I… I feel like I’ve been trapped inside my own mind for… months now. I can… I can kind of remember things, but… it doesn’t feel like _I_ did them. Today it’s like… being awake for the first time in forever…”  


He continued to remain silent as he stared back at her, an unreadable expression on his face.  


“I just… I still can’t tell if I’m… if I’m dreaming or… something.”  


Silence fell over them for several long moments as she bowed her head slightly, rubbing at her eyes with the back of her hand still holding the Focus.  


“Do you remember… that one time where… everyone must have been drinking… and… I kept trying to tell you something?”  


A hint of surprise crossed Erend’s face, but he nodded.  


“This was it. This was what I wanted to talk to you about, I just… couldn’t.”  


After several long moments, she finally sighed, looking back up at him.  


“I understand if you don’t believe me entirely right now, but… please hear me out?”  


Another moment or two passed before he nodded, raising a hand to place it on her shoulder. A small smile tugged at her lips before another voice from farther along the row caused her to whip around.  


“Everything okay out here?”  


Petra slowly approached them, her arms folded over her chest.  


“Yeah, just…” Erend began, but trailed off and eventually sighed, shaking his head.  


“I get it,” she replied, nodding. “GAIA and that image that says she’s Elisabet just tried to explain to Talanah and me more in depth what happened and… I still don’t get it, I’m sorry.”  


“That makes sense because, well, I don’t either,” Aloy shrugged. “All I know is… it feels good to be back.”  


Petra laughed, shaking her head as she came to a stop beside the two of them.  


“When… when I met you during the battle, then, Aloy…” she began, “was that _you_ or… her?”  


The redhead sighed.  


“Still pretty much me.”  


“Pretty much?”  


“Like I tried to explain, she was always there, but… not in control.”  


Petra nodded slowly, although her expression told that she wasn’t entirely certain, even with the explanation.  


“So… where does that leave things?” Erend finally asked, once the silence had gone on for several long moments.  


Aloy sighed heavily, shifting the blanket about her somewhat.  


“Fixing the original GAIA Prime would still be the end goal, but… I’m concerned now with her a part of that equation.”  


“Why, exactly?”  


Aloy paused for a moment before a shiver ran through her.  


“We have some… things to work out, still.”  


“We as in…?”  


“Elisabet and me.”  


Petra and Erend exchanged glances but otherwise remained silent.  


“For now though, I… I need to get some fresh air, I think,” Aloy sighed. “I’ll be back.”  


“Do you want anyone to go with you?” Erend asked as she went to step past him.  


She paused for a moment, frowning slightly before shaking her head.  


“Not for right now.”  


He nodded in response but otherwise remained silent as he watched her go. Within minutes, Aloy had pulled on her slightly modified Brave armor and grabbed her equipment. With her bow strung over her shoulders, she made her way to the main door of the facility. Stopping just before it, she finally removed her Focus from a pouch on her belt and slid it beside her ear.  


The holographic lock to open the door appeared, but before she could step closer and turn it, the image of Elisabet appeared before it.  


“Aloy, I understand you’re upset, I… I just want to ask if we can talk.”  


The redhead stared back at the image for several long moments, her jaw working tensely.  


“Later.”  


The older redhead looked as if she wanted to say something else, but eventually gave a short nod. Almost immediately, Aloy stepped forward through her image and twisted the holographic lock. When she took a step back, the image of Elisabet was gone, leaving the main entry of the facility as empty and dark as always.  


As the enormous door finally opened, she stepped onto the platform outside, only to come to a halt at the sight of a figure standing in the center of the cavernous room before her. The figure seemed somewhat surprised at her appearance, as well, but quickly recovered, folding her hands before her.  


“Aloy, what fortunate timing. I was hoping to speak with you. Do you have a few moments?”  


She stared back at Jezza for several long moments before swallowing nervously and nodding, beginning to descend the short set of stairs to the floor below, as well. The High Matriarch watched her approach until she came to a stop a few feet before her.  


“I have heard that you and your companions have come and gone from the mountain several times, yet there has been no word regarding your goal that you originally told Lansra and me of. It has been nearly a month since your arrival… how go your efforts?”  


Aloy sighed, shaking her head slowly.  


“It takes time,” she replied. “Things have been progressing, but… not incredibly quickly, unfortunately.”  


Jezza frowned slightly.  


“For the task you showed, only four people would seem to be a small party. Are you sure you do not need additional help?”  


Aloy stared back at the Matriarch in something like surprise for several moments before she quickly recovered, clearing her throat.  


“No, I… uh… we have been working just fine with the four of us,” she began. “Adding more people may only complicate things, actually.”  


The Matriarch looked somewhat saddened, but nodded.  


“Do you require something, then?”  


“What do you mean?”  


“You appear to be leaving the mountain by yourself.”  


“I just needed some fresh air,” she shrugged. “If work consumed every part of my life, nothing would truly get done, in the end.”  


Jezza nodded sagely before letting out a heavy sigh.  


“Aloy, I… have heard stories of some interactions between your companions and the Nora.”  


The huntress stiffened somewhat, but said nothing.  


“Our people are still distraught,” she continued, “and even though Lansra and I have given our blessing to your cause, not everyone is immediately so willing to agree.”  


Jezza glanced down at the ground between them for a moment before looking back up at the younger woman.  


“I only ask that you do not hold any of this against them, for now.”  


Aloy took a deep breath in through her nose before nodding, shifting her position somewhat uncomfortably.  


“I understand.”  


Jezza offered a small smile before clearing her throat softly.  


“I won’t hold you any longer, then.”  


Aloy offered a small, awkward nod before stepping around the elder woman and walking quickly toward the causeway to the mountain exit. As soon as she stepped outside, she glanced around for signs of other Nora, but found herself still alone, so she took the moment to pause, closing her eyes and breathing the cold mountain air deeply.  


When her eyes finally opened, after a few long moments, her lips had pulled into a small smile that remained on her face as she hurried toward the path down toward Mother’s Watch.  


“It’s good to be back.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wooooooo...
> 
> Just for the record: yes, I know cognitive restructuring is a real term and that it is something entirely different in real life. It was used intentionally wrong here.
> 
> See y'all next week.


	18. Ghosts of Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy cold Monday from where I live.
> 
> This one's a bit more relaxed chapter than last week, but just keep this one thing in mind:
> 
> All is not what it may appear.

The sun was almost directly overhead by the time Aloy dragged herself over the last ledge of a climb that left her panting and heaving. After stretching her back and shoulders against the tension that had settled into them from the exertion, she stood with her hands on her knees as she stared back out over the valley below her, her eyes squinted slightly against the harsh sunlight. The colors in the trees were incredibly visible, but she could also see how a good number of the trees had already begun to lose their leaves, leaving barren branches behind.  


Her eyes travelled farther away from the mountainside she stood on to see that the colors became less prevalent the closer they got to where she knew Mother’s Heart to be, and instead she noted more blackened bark and scraggly branches reaching toward the sky.  


With a frown, she took one last deep breath, finding that her heart rate and breathing had finally returned to a more normal level. She straightened up and quickly turned away from the wide vista, instead scanning the narrow, already half snow-covered trail that led even farther up the mountain.  


“May be autumn in the valley below, but already starting to feel like winter up here.”  


Her jaw set resolutely, she set out toward the path, her strides long and purposeful, even as her fingers shook from more than the cold.  


As she rounded the first real bend and found herself walking the narrow path between two towering rock walls, she could have sworn she caught sight of another figure at the second bend, farther ahead, and came to a halt. She stared at the place she had seen motion a moment ago, her fingers working tensely in fists beside her.  


“No one else is up here… couldn’t be.”  


Still, her hand hovered over the quiver of arrows at her hip for a moment before squeezed her fingers into a fist and pressed onward, not allowing her pace to slow, even as the hair on the back of her neck stood up. When she reached the bend, she came to a sudden stop for an entirely different reason. No figure stood in the middle of the trail ahead, but an imposing form blocked her path, all the same. She swallowed nervously before traversing the last several yards much slower than she had the rest of the climb. Finally, when she came to a stop before the large gravestone, she let out a shaky sigh.  


The various offerings placed about the ground before the large, carved rock looked somewhat worse for wear than she remembered, the wooden bowls and twine figures featuring some cracks and missing pieces. Whether it was from the weather, the animals, or something else, was impossible to tell, but she found herself crouching down before them and taking one of the small figures in her fingers.  


A hard lump formed in her throat as she turned it over several times before she carefully set it back in its place on the large stone slab before the carved marker before her. Her eyes travelled up to the symbol set into the face of the rock, finding the marking at once both familiar and incredibly foreign from the world she had inhabited for the past several months.  


Swallowing thickly, she slipped her Focus from beside her ear, holding it in her palm for several moments before placing it on a smaller rock a yard or so away.  


“Don’t want anyone else listening in.”  


With that, she returned to the gravestone and knelt before it, the cold, wet ground immediately seeping through her leggings, but she ignored the feeling and instead kept her eyes locked on the symbol on the rock before her.  


“Hey, Rost…”  


Almost immediately, her voice cracked and she squeezed her eyes shut tightly. Despite her best efforts, hot tears leaked from the corners of her eyes, until she finally wiped them away with the back of her hand.  


“It’s… been a long time,” she continued even more softly, “in reality, I suppose.”  


A sound like a laugh escaped her, but she found the feeling in her chest was anything but light.  


“Anyway… a lot’s happened,” she pressed on. “I did it, in case you didn’t know. I gave myself to the cause of the world and… well, I’m still alive, and so are a lot of other people. I… I couldn’t save them all, but… I think we all knew that wasn’t going to be possible.”  


She paused for several long moments before sighing, bowing her head.  


“I wish that had been the triumphant moment it should have been… but… well, there’s a reason I didn’t get to come see you until now.”  


With another deep breath, she looked back up at the gravestone, once again.  


“And even if I had stood here before now… it wouldn’t have been me talking to you.”  


Her jaw clenched as her hands curled into fists around the fabric of her skirt, the fabric stopping her nails from digging into her palms.  


“How are you supposed to forgive people who take so much from you?” she continued, her voice barely louder than a whisper. “First the Nora, and now… Elisabet.”  


She slowly relaxed her fingers, rubbing her palms up and down her legs, instead.  


“I know… forgiveness is supposed to be the better thing to do, but… how much am I supposed to just forgive?”  


Suddenly, the sound of a sharp slam echoing off the walls of the small ravine caused her to jump, instantly, popping into a more ready kneeling position, one hand reaching for her bow. She glanced over her shoulder back the way she had come, but she saw no signs of motion, so she turned back to the only other direction in the ravine.  


With a deep breath, she began to rise to her feet, lifting the bow from over her shoulders and nocking an arrow to it. As she approached the wooden gate only a few yards away, she quickly glanced up to scan over it, noting that like the offerings at the gravestone, it was beginning to look a little worse for wear.  


Some of the wooden poles that formed the fence stretching out to either side had broken or fallen over, while one of them that had helped form the bottom part of the wooden construction over the opening was hanging loose from one of the twine bandings that had been used to originally hold it in place.  


Aloy stepped through the opening and immediately shivered as the hair on the back of her neck stood on end. The open courtyard around the cabin at the top of the short hill before her seemed empty, but something didn’t let her feel that was entirely true. Finally, her eyes settled on the cabin before her and a thick knot appeared in her throat. Some of the roof on the right hand side looked as if it had caved in, while one or two of the steps up to the front porch seemed to have also given in to the elements.  


Other than the first telltale signs, however, the cabin appeared to be mostly intact.  


The one thing that drew her attention the most, though, was the door left slightly ajar and waving in the breeze.  


Aloy paused where she stood, eyes locked on the door as she tried to think back to months ago when she had last visited.  


“I would have closed the door, right?”  


She slowly began to approach the cabin, keeping her bow held lowered, but at the ready. When she reached the bottom of the half-standing stairs, she paused, scanning over the front of the cabin for any signs of something out of place. A quick glance to either side did not show any obvious signs of inhabitants or assailants, so she turned her focus back to the doorway.  


“ _Could just not close properly, anymore._ ”  


Aloy shook her head quickly before stepping over the broken steps as best she could, quickly slinking onto the small porch. The wood creaked and groaned softly under her weight, so she froze in place for several moments, waiting to hear if anyone or anything responded to her presence.  


The sound of a similar creaking and groaning from inside the cabin was all she could make out, but it wasn’t strong enough to confirm that it was or was not an actual person, so she took a deep breath in through her nose before moving closer to the door, placing most of her weight on the balls of her feet.  


When she reached it, she carefully pressed the arrowhead against the inside of the door, using it to push it open. A moment later, she swung the door as quickly as she could and leaned into the doorway, holding the arrow drawn back and aimed into the center of the room. It was still relatively dark inside the cabin, but she was able to make out motion against the wall to her left, almost immediately. She quickly turned the arrowhead toward it, trying to will her eyes to adjust faster to the darkness within the space. A few moments later, she was finally able to make out a figure against the wall, and she tightened her grip on the bow.  


“Who are you?” she demanded. “What are you doing here?”  


“I-I didn’t realize anyone lived here…”  


Aloy paused for a moment, eyes still locked on the shadowed figure against the wall.  


The voice was not what she had expected.  


It sounded…  


She cleared her throat forcefully.  


“Step away from the wall.”  


The figure did as she asked, slowly moving into the center of the room, where the light from the open doorway and the gaping hole in the ceiling provided a clearer image. As soon as they became visible, Aloy’s grip on the bow relaxed slightly, confusion creasing her face.  


The figure was a young girl, no more than twelve years old, her face and hair dirty and stained, although her clothes didn’t look exactly threadbare; they didn’t look like they truly fit her, though. Her eyes were locked on the tip of Aloy’s arrow, her hands nervously playing with the fabric of her clothing at her sides.  


“Please, I’m—I’m sorry,” the girl muttered. “I didn’t know…”  


Aloy continued to look her over for several long moments before clearing her throat.  


“It’s okay.”  


She glanced around the inside of the cabin for anyone else, but the girl seemed to be alone. Aloy slowly lowered her bow, but didn’t entirely put it away, and stepped into the cabin.  


“Who are you?” she asked again.  


“My name is Alana,” the girl replied.  


“What are you doing here alone, Alana?”  


The girl shifted nervously, glancing down at her feet for a moment before looking back up at Aloy, reaching up to run a hand through her dark, matted hair.  


“I wasn’t supposed to be alone for so long.”  


Confusion creased the redhead’s face, but she found herself tensing up, once again, her fingers closing more tightly around the bow in her hands.  


“What do you mean?”  


Alana must have sensed her unease because she quickly scrambled to explain.  


“I came here with my brother when the killers attacked. He told me to stay here and not leave until he came back, and then he went to find the woman who looked after us, but…”  


She trailed off, her head hanging slightly as she stared at the ground.  


“But he never came back,” Aloy finished softly.  


She nodded.  


“And you’ve just been here by yourself the whole time?”  


“I didn’t know what to do.”  


Aloy finally relaxed her grip on her bow, lowering it completely before her. When Alana noted the change in her posture, she seemed to relax somewhat, too.  


“I used to live here, once,” Aloy said, sliding the arrow back in her quiver.  


“Oh, I’m sorry—”  


“It’s okay,” she said quickly. “Not anymore, though.”  


“It seemed abandoned when we found it.”  


Aloy’s lips pulled into a thin line as she nodded, slipping her bow back over her shoulders.  


“It is—well, was, I suppose.”  


Relatively convinced that the girl wasn’t going to stab her when she wasn’t looking, Aloy glanced around the inside of the cabin more carefully, now. The section of the roof that had collapsed was just before the old fireplace, although one of the rough chairs from the table had fallen victim to the destruction, as well, it seemed.  


Other than that, there was barely any signs that someone else had been living in the cabin recently.  


“Why haven’t you left?” Aloy asked, turning back to Alana.  


She shrugged.  


“I don’t know where else I would go.”  


Aloy studied the girl for several long moments before a look of realization came over her and she slowly approached, kneeling down a foot or two in front of her.  


“You’re an outcast, aren’t you?”  


The girl paused for a moment or two before nodding.  


A sharp pang appeared in Aloy’s chest as she let out a heavy sigh.  


“I understand,” she said quietly.  


The girl’s face contorted in confusion.  


“But you’re wearing a Brave’s armor.”  


“I know, but… I grew up an outcast, too,” she continued. “I was eighteen when I finally ran the proving and ‘won’ the right to be a part of the tribe.”  


Alana’s face brightened as her hands began to fidget before her.  


“So there’s a way to not be an outcast again?”  


Aloy paused for a moment, weighing the girl’s words in her head before nodding slowly.  


“There should be,” she said. “What do you mean again? Were you not always an outcast?”  


Alana hung her head, not meeting Aloy’s gaze.  


“I… no, I wasn’t…”  


She waited several long moments for the girl to continue, but she remained silent.  


“What happened, Alana?”  


She shook her head.  


Aloy sighed softly, tapping her fingers on her knee.  


“Was it something you did, something you could control?”  


Alana paused for a moment before shrugging.  


“Something I did… but I was forced.”  


Aloy blinked at the girl’s response, the hair on the back of her neck standing up as she adjusted her position on one knee.  


“Alana… what happened?”  


The girl bit her lip for a moment before finally meeting Aloy’s eyes, once again.  


“You were an outcast once, so you promise you won’t tell?”  


The redhead nodded.  


“It… it was my father,” she said softly. “He pushed my brother and me so hard. He wanted us to be the perfect hunters, the perfect Braves… the perfect Nora. He said we had to ‘continue our mother’s legacy.’ I… we couldn’t take it anymore.”  


Alana began to shake her head slowly.  


“I didn’t want any of that. I just wanted to be… me.”  


Aloy swallowed the hard lump that had appeared in her throat, but waited for the girl to continue.  


“One day, we were out training. He was testing me, making me hunt a group of Watchers… but he brought another Brave with him as a way to show off. When I missed one of them, and he had to intervene, he grew angry. He yelled at me in front of my brother and the Brave, saying that I would be a disgrace to our mother.  


“He had me go again, but this time, when I was supposed to shoot my arrow at the second Watcher… I shot it at him, instead.”  


Aloy froze in place, staring at the girl before her as she continued to stare down at her feet, slowly shaking her head.  


“It hit him in the eye, but he still came after me, so my brother…”  


She trailed off, her tone tremulous and broken like she was about to sob at any moment, but she didn’t need to finish her sentence for the ending to sink in.  


“He told me to do it, too. Before we went out that day. If I didn’t… he would.”  


Aloy let out a heavy sigh as the girl wiped at her eyes, her tears actually removing some of the grime that had settled onto her skin from however long she had been left alone.  


“He helped me, and we got what we wanted, but… now we’re outcasts and… I haven’t seen him in months.”  


“Do you blame him?”  


Alana looked confused as she wiped at her eyes, yet again.  


“What do you mean?”  


“For what happened… for becoming outcasts?”  


She hesitated for a moment before slowly shaking her head.  


Aloy let out a heavy sigh, nodding.  


“So he left how long ago?”  


“I can’t remember.”  


“And you’ve just stayed here?”  


“What if he came back?”  


The redhead’s lips pulled into a thin line as relaxed her posture, somewhat, but still remained on one knee before the girl.  


“The killers are long gone, Alana.”  


“You survived,” she replied, nodding. “Did you see him?”  


“What’s he look like?”  


“He’s older than me, tall with dark hair. He had a spear that was our mother’s he stole from our father’s old cabin, it would have had bright green and blue things on it, kinda like yours.”  


She pointed to Aloy’s spear and she glanced up at it before turning back to Alana and frowning slightly, shaking her head.  


“I don’t remember seeing someone like that.”  


Alana’s face fell as her head hung slightly and she kicked at the floor.  


“He’s not going to come back, is he?”  


“We don’t know that,” Aloy said quickly.  


“If I didn’t get mad when he said he was leaving, maybe—”  


“Wait, wait, wait, hold on a second,” she interrupted. “Just… before he left, you two argued?”  


Alana shrugged.  


“I didn’t want him to leave.”  


Aloy sighed, nodding slowly.  


“I understand, but… I’m sure it isn’t your fault that he hasn’t come back, yet,” she said softly.  


“How do you know that?”  


Aloy opened her mouth to speak for a moment before pausing, her eyes glazing over for a moment as a tight feeling appeared in her chest. Finally, the words at the back of her throat seemed to find their way out of her.  


“People make mistakes, act without thinking, all the time.”  


Just then, a loud bang from the front of the cabin caused her to jump in surprise, whirling toward it to find the door swinging in a particularly strong gust of wind, swaying haphazardly away from the opening before slamming back into it, once again, with the same loud bang. It seemed to finally fall still as the gust died down, and Aloy let out a heavy sigh.  


When she turned back before her, however, she found not the young girl, dirty from months of living on her own, but simply the other half of the empty room and the table that had nearly avoided complete destruction from the collapsing roof. She whirled around, looking for any signs of the girl, but found none. The bedroll in the corner was still there, so she quickly hopped to her feet and moved over to it.  


When she knelt down beside it, she found that it appeared much older and dustier than it should have if someone were, indeed, living in the cabin. The blanket was freezing to the touch, and she quickly recognized it as the one from her old bed at the back of the cabin. With a frown, she scanned the empty cabin, one more time, before slowly rising to her feet, rubbing at her arms as a sudden chill ran down her spine.  


It was quite clear that no one had lived here in months.  


“I thought that was going to stop,” she muttered, letting out a heavy sigh before moving back to the front door of the cabin, stopping in it to spare one last glance around the empty room. “It’s not home anymore… not without him.”  


With that, she slipped outside and began to make her way back down the trail. As she did, however, she caught something glinting on top of one of the rocks near the large gravestone and tilted her head slightly, approaching it and crouching down. As she did, she quickly realized what it was and grabbed it from the rock, brushing a fine layer of snow off the softly glowing logo on the outer side.  


“Can’t believe I almost forgot you.”  


With a sigh, she slipped the Focus beside her ear, bringing the interface to life around her. As it did, she noticed something amidst the sphere of lines and numbers that projected around her.  


A small box with text in it sat before her.  


“New Entry saved in Speaking Journals.”  


Aloy hesitated for a moment before tapping the button that stated “Go to Folder”. A moment later, the list of all of the speaking journals appeared before her, although the one at the bottom was highlighted by a flashing, yellow symbol.  


“When was this from?”  


She hesitantly reached forward before tapping it with two fingers. A moment later, the list cleared away, revealing a purple-hued image of herself standing before her.  


“Hey, Aloy, it’s… well, I think you can figure that out,” it began. “I wanted to make this before… before GAIA and I give this crazy plan a try. She says it will work, but no one’s ever done it before. If it goes right… well, you’ll actually be the one hearing this.”  


The image sighed, her hands wringing nervously before her.  


“When you wake up, you’re going to be disoriented, very confused, and… probably more than a little upset. I just… I wanted this to be on record now, in case you have a reason to not believe me later.”  


The image took a deep breath before letting her hands fall to her sides, once again.  


“I’m sorry.”  


Aloy’s eyebrows raised slightly as she rose to a standing position, matching eye lines with the purple, somewhat transparent image of herself.  


“I’m sorry for… for what’s happened. I didn’t mean for any of this to happen the way it did. I hoped… I just wanted to try to fix everything. I tried once and… well, things got fucked up almost immediately. So, I guess… I’m always just trying to fix my mistakes. You’ve done so much already, and I’m not trying to discredit that, there was… there was just more to do that I knew you wouldn’t know how to do, and… well, I was worried there wouldn’t be enough time to simply teach you.”  


The image rubbed her eyes suddenly, letting out an annoyed huff.  


“This isn’t coming out how I wanted it to,” she said, chewing the inside of her cheek for a moment or two before taking a deep breath and continuing. “I’m sorry, Aloy. I was just trying to do what I thought was right, and… I fucked up again.”  


The image paused for several long moments before letting out a heavy sigh.  


“I hope we can talk soon, so I can say everything to you… in person.”  


The image slowly reached toward where the interface must have been before pausing, a small laugh escaping her as she grinned.  


“Elisabet out.”  


Aloy continued to stare at the frozen image of herself, hand outstretched and slight grin on her lips, for several long moments before letting out a heavy sigh and tapping the Focus to close the interface.  


“What are the chances…?”

  


  


On her return journey to the mountain, Aloy yet again avoided all of the settlements and any signs of other people, barring a passing nod to a group of Braves passing in the other direction on the same trail as her. When she finally reached Mother’s Watch, however, she was forced to deal with the Nora people, once again, as the guard at the gate waved to her.  


“Anointed has returned, open the gate!”  


She cringed at the title, but said nothing as the gate slowly swung open. Once inside, she caught sight of the usual stares from the small crowds huddled about the courtyard, although she noted how fewer of them seemed to be quite so hostile as she remembered.  


“ _Guess some things could have changed recently._ ”  


Still, she pressed on past all of them to the entrance to the tunnel. Upon entering, she paused for a moment, images and sensations of arguing voices, aches and pains throughout her body, and something warm and wet seeped into her clothing came over her. After a moment or two of squeezing her eyes shut tightly and breathing in a slow, measured rhythm, they faded and she resumed her trip down the passageway.  


She did not run into anyone else before reaching the door, much to her relief, and she quickly walked through the opening as soon as the scan was done. Her fast pace slowed as soon as the door closed behind her, and she let out a heavy sigh, running her hands over her hair. A moment later, a soft chime sounded in her ear.  


“Aloy, you have returned.”  


GAIA’s tone was warm, and she swore she could almost see her smiling, which brought the hints of one to Aloy’s lips, as well.  


“I have.”  


“Was your trip successful?”  


She paused for a moment, GAIA’s simple question weighing much heavier on her than she had expected.  


“Maybe.”  


She continued to stare blankly at the ground before her for a moment before taking a deep breath and setting out toward the door to the first level of the facility.  


“Got outside for a bit, at least.”  


“That is good, then.”  


Aloy shook her head slightly as she made her way around the curved walkway, her eyes somewhat glassy as she registered just enough of the world before her to prevent her from running into anything, but not enough to truly feel alert.  


Suddenly, another voice calling out her name caused her to jump and whirl around. She didn’t see anyone immediately around her, but heard the voice, once again. Confusion creased her face until she turned to her left and found that she had actually just passed one of the large entryways into the old children’s wings and she slowly backed up toward it, leaning her head around the corner.  


Petra was waving to her excitedly, so Aloy quickly slipped around the corner and moved farther into the room.  


“You’re back, good,” the Oseram said, putting a piece of metal down on her workbench before stepping around it and gesturing for Aloy to follow her. “Come on, there’s something you should see.”  


“What is it?” she asked, laughing slightly.  


“You’ll see, now come on!”  


Aloy rolled her eyes but followed after the excited woman as they moved farther into the area. As they approached the back of the cluttered space, she heard the sounds of something heavy shifting and slowed her pace, somewhat, even though Petra pressed on, excited as ever.  


When she glanced back at the redhead, she sighed and braced her hands on her hips.  


“This is a good thing, I promise.”  


“Yeah, and the last time I heard that…” she grumbled under her breath, but continued on, anyway.  


When she reached Petra, she gestured to her right. Aloy followed her motions before catching sight of what seemed to be making the noise she had heard so far. Two of the servitor bots appeared to be in the process of lifting a large crate, moving it away from the wall. She raised her eyebrows as she turned back to the Oseram.  


“You got the other working?”  


“You remembered!”  


Aloy shook her head as Petra laughed and clapped her hand on the back of her shoulder hard enough to make her stagger slightly.  


“Sorry, anyway, yes!”  


Aloy laughed.  


“All by yourself?”  


“With some minimal help from GAIA at the end, maybe, but yes.”  


She gave her a skeptical look before the familiar chime sounded in her ear.  


“She is correct,” GAIA stated. “I simply provided the information regarding a missing component. Petra installed it all herself, however.”  


“I did say that I was the best Tinkerer this side of the Claim, did I not?”  


Aloy rolled her eyes again but nodded.  


“So you got them working and… had them start moving boxes?”  


“It’s a test, Aloy,” she replied, rolling her eyes, now. “Gotta make sure everything works before I ask them to start doing real things.”  


“Like?”  


“Guess we’ll find out.”  


Aloy sighed, but it quickly turned into a yawn as she tried to hide it with one hand.  


“You look as if you’re about to fall asleep, already.”  


“Didn’t get a whole lot of restful sleep, you know?”  


Petra’s lips pulled into a thin line as she nodded curtly.  


“I need to take a quick nap or something, maybe…”  


“Go, girl.”  


Aloy narrowed her eyes at Petra, who simply laughed and punched her shoulder playfully.  


“We can talk more later.”  


She tried to say something else, but another yawn blocked her from speaking and she settled on nodding before turning to head back out to the walkway. Thankfully, she didn’t run into any of the others on her way down to her room, and so she was able to enter her small apartment in peace, only to immediately come to a stop and gag.  


The entire room smelled of vomit.  


“ _Guess I never cleaned that up…_ ”  


She made her way to the door to the bedroom, glancing at the floor for several moments before gagging, once again, and quickly collecting her bedroll. Without sparing another glance at the floor by the ancient bed, she made her way back out of the apartment and over to a nearby, but still abandoned room. Only half of the lights in the apartment worked, and the ones that did continued to flicker even after several moments of waiting, so she gave up and moved to the next.  


Eventually, she found one two doors down from Erend’s that seemed reasonably clear and functional, and carried her bedroll into its bedroom. Soon after, she had gathered the rest of her equipment and belongings, carrying them to her new space before removing her bow, spear, and other equipment from her person. With a heavy sigh, she sat on the edge of her bedroll, staring blankly at the wall before her.  


Just as she was debating lying down and going to sleep, a voice appeared in her ear.  


“Aloy… can we… can we have that talk?”  


She sighed, hanging her head for a moment before nodding, then realizing that probably wouldn’t translate.  


“Yeah, I guess we can.”  


A moment later, a figure materialized in the doorway of the bedroom and Aloy glanced up at her only to pull a double take. The image was undoubtedly Elisabet, but not exactly the one she had been accustomed to seeing in the images from Zero Dawn. The image glanced down at herself before laughing nervously.  


“Probably the last time I still really looked good, and cared about how I did,” she remarked. “Figured if I had the choice, might as well just kind of revisit those days… unless it’s too weird…”  


“No, just… unexpected.”  


The younger image of Elisabet laughed, glancing down at herself, once again, and adjusted the loose-fitting red sweater before stepping farther into the room, shoving her hands in the pockets of her dark pants. Aloy watched her approach until she came to a stop at the foot of the bed, beginning to pace back and forth slowly.  


“I’ve seen you—like this—before,” Aloy said slowly.  


Elisabet nodded.  


“That fucked up nightmare in Ted’s old office,” she said. “Where I—uh—took some frustration out on him.”  


Aloy laughed softly, as the image of Elisabet grinned.  


“So… yeah…”  


Their laughter began to die down before Aloy cleared her throat, finally turning to look over at the image of Elisabet, once again.  


“I saw your message.”  


The image raised her eyebrows as she immediately stopped her pacing.  


“Oh?”  


Aloy nodded.  


“I… I think having the time to think a bit helped me understand,” she began, “but…”  


Elisabet’s face fell slightly as Aloy tried to find her words.  


“Everything I said this morning…”  


“I know,” Elisabet interjected, “I know, and…”  


“You’re sorry?”  


She gave an Aloy a look as she smirked.  


“I’m trying to be heartfelt, here.”  


“Please, continue.”  


“I did not do—what happened—to try to hurt you or to _attack_ you… I… I feel like I’m just repeating myself, saying that I wanted to fix things, but…”  


“I’m… actually starting to believe you,” Aloy interrupted.  


Elisabet paused, staring back at her for several moments before closing her mouth.  


“I just—I don’t know if I would say everything’s totally forgiven,” she continued, “but… I’m starting to see your side.”  


The image of Elisabet gave an awkward, half-nod before beginning to pace at the end of the bed, once again.  


“Guess that’s progress.”  


They glanced at each other before both laughing softly.  


After several more long moments, the sound of Elisabet clearing her throat brought Aloy’s attention back to her.  


“In so many ways, you remind me of me,” she began, staring back at the younger redhead with a somewhat glassy-eyed stare, “but at the same time… there’s so much I still don’t know about you.”  


“Even after—?”  


“Even after the past three months.”  


Aloy paused for a moment at the interruption, staring back at the image beside her for several moments before swallowing the rest of the words she had intended to say.  


“Strange, because I feel the opposite.”  


Elisabet looked somewhat confused, now as Aloy turned so she was sitting sideways on the bed, facing the image at the end.  


“The past three months I… I felt like I was drifting in and out of the real world… or, well, in and out of the world as I knew it.”  


The other redhead was clearly waiting for her to go on, remaining silent as she took a deep breath, her face clearly conveying how she was grasping to describe her thoughts aloud.  


“One moment I was aware of what was going on here—recovering in Meridian, the old Zero Dawn facility, coming here—the next, I was… somewhere else. I saw… the place you grew up… your mother… the—school, I think they called it—where you first met Ted Faro… when you started helping him… what you did at that FAS place… and what you did after.”  


The image of Elisabet was looking to her with a somewhat wide-eyed expression as she trailed off, and she remained still for several long seconds until she made the motion of swallowing forcefully.  


“Wow, you—uh—saw pretty much everything, huh?”  


Aloy shrugged.  


“A lot.”  


Elisabet nodded slowly.  


“And… you came out of all of that… like this morning…”  


Aloy let out a heavy sigh, running her hands back over her hair.  


“There were some other things on my mind.”  


Silence fell over them for several long moments before the younger redhead continued.  


“The one thing I still can’t begin to understand, though…”  


“HADES.”  


She nodded.  


“I already told you, I don’t want to _use_ it, I want to _study_ it.”  


“I heard you this morning,” Aloy interjected, “but it’s still dangerous.”  


“It could be in the wrong hands, yes,” Elisabet countered, “but before we’d ever even think of letting it out of its little prison, we’d take all kinds of measures, be incredibly careful…”  


“You of all people should know that even then, things don’t go right.”  


Elisabet paused, mouth still hanging open slightly for a moment before she suddenly switched directions from what she had been saying.  


“What do you mean by that— _exactly_?”  


“Everything with Ted, the place you worked and helped him before going off on your own…”  


“You should have also seen how the fact that I knew that couldn’t be contained for long scared the shit out of me.”  


“And yet you didn’t do anything to stop it!”  


“I couldn’t!”  


Elisabet leapt from her seat on the end of the bed, beginning to pace about the room as she ran her hands forcefully through her hair.  


“The world was different then, Aloy,” she finally continued. “I couldn’t just destroy the computers that held the code to the FAS Chariot line or… really even say anything… without being sued for more money than I could ever hope to have in my lifetime, or facing serious prison time.”  


“Even if what you were doing was protecting thousands of people?”  


“Billions, even,” Elisabet said, laughing dryly, “but no, I couldn’t. When I started working at FAS they made me sign an NDA and a non-compete clause—”  


Aloy stared up at her with a vacant expression as Elisabet paused.  


“Basically a contract that said I couldn’t tell anyone anything and couldn’t go to another similar company and share the information, either.”  


“Well that sounds like a terrible idea.”  


She let out an actual, genuine laugh at that.  


“Well, look where we ended up,” she said, gesturing to the room around them. “Like I said: it was a different time.”  


Silence fell over them for several long seconds before Aloy sighed, bringing Elisabet’s attention back to her.  


“I don’t think we’re going to agree on HADES, for now,” she said slowly, “but… please just promise me you won’t try do anything with it for now… okay?”  


The image of the older redhead stared back at her for several long moments, her gaze seemingly moving and out of focus on her, before nodding.  


“I promise.”  


Aloy nodded and immediately yawned, stretching her arms over her head.  


“I told Petra I needed a nap, and I think that’s still true,” she muttered.  


Elisabet laughed softly, coming to a stop at the foot of the bed.  


“I know, and I’ll let you get some rest. You probably need it.”  


Aloy mumbled something incomprehensible as she crawled under the blanket on her bedroll and yanked it back over herself.  


“I’ll see you when you wake up.”  


Aloy mumbled something that sounded like an affirmative and Elisabet grinned.  


“Sweet dreams, Aloy.”


	19. Reconnecting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Monday y'all.
> 
> So, there is a plan for the rest of this story, and we're slowly getting into it, now. Things are about to ramp up in a big way.
> 
> Anyhoo, for now, this chapter's title has dual meanings.
> 
> You'll see why.

When Aloy finally awoke, once again, she immediately groaned at the feeling of soreness and stiffness that had settled into every part of her body, but particularly her back. She managed to laboriously drag herself to a seated position at the edge of the bed before actually attempting to stretch.  


Once she had finally worked out the worst of the tension and the knots in her back, she sighed, staring blearily at the far wall. A few long moments later, she blinked several times and wiped at her eyes tiredly before dragging herself to her feet. She made her way to her pack of belongings in the other room before pausing, glancing down at her Nora Brave armor and running her hand over the fur section of the skirt.  


“Probably could do with a change for a day… or two…”  


Within a minute or two, she had donned part of the set of silken Carja armor she had brought with her, slipping on her Banuk jacket over the top for good measure against the chill that had settled into the facility. She glanced at the weapons she had shed upon returning earlier, but decided against any of them for the time being, instead making her way to the door out of her small apartment.  


As soon as she stepped outside, her stomach audibly groaned and she rubbed at it absentmindedly. Almost immediately, she found her feet carrying her through the various hallways of the facilities to the stairwell up to the main floor of the APOLLO workstations. She could hear the sounds of something tinkering and banging in Petra’s workshop, followed by a loud curse, but she decided to ignore it for the time being and instead made her way toward the control room.  


As soon as she stepped inside, she heard the sounds of motion and her head whipped around to her right as she came to a sudden halt. Talanah stood at the far end of the room, holding one of their canteens halfway to her mouth. When she seemed to realize it was Aloy, she let out a soft “oh” and replaced the top on the vessel.  


“I didn’t expect anyone else to be awake this late,” she said.  


“Well, it sounds like Petra’s also up, so…”  


Talanah nodded, biting her lower lip for a moment before she let out a heavy sigh.  


“I’ve been meaning to find you,” she said.  


“Oh?”  


“I… wanted to see if we could talk.”  


A tight feeling appeared in Aloy’s chest, but she tried to shift her posture in an attempt to still appear relaxed, folding her arms over her chest.  


“Yeah?”  


“Yeah. So… can we?”  


Aloy swallowed nervously.  


“Right here?”  


“Like you said, Petra’s busy, I’m assuming Erend’s asleep…” Talanah shrugged. “Why not?”  


Aloy tried to give a shrug, as well, but the motion felt awkward and stilted, so she quickly decided to start making her way toward Talanah, who was leaning against one of the dark consoles at the far end of the room.  


“So… what do you want to talk about?”  


Talanah gave her an admonishing look and Aloy quickly looked down at her feet, kicking half-heartedly at a small rock that may or may not have actually been there.  


“So, that.”  


A brief pause fell over them before Aloy finally looked back up at Talanah to see her staring back at her, an unreadable expression on her face.  


“Yeah, that.”  


Aloy finally came to a stop before Talanah, leaning against the adjacent wall with a sigh and folding her arms over her chest.  


“So… where do you want to start?”  


“How much do you remember?”  


The question was immediate and pressing, taking Aloy somewhat by surprise.  


“Of?”  


“Everything. From… from the battle at Meridian until now.”  


Aloy tried to think back to that time, but before she could even open her mouth, Talanah continued.  


“Do you remember the infirmary?”  


The redhead paused for a moment before taking a deep breath.  


“Yes, but… but almost like a dream.”  


“All of it?”  


Aloy paused for a moment, her face contorted in thought.  


“I… most of it, I think.”  


Talanah nodded slowly, adjusting her position and fidgeting with her clothing ever so slightly.  


“And the Zero Dawn ruins?”  


Aloy let out a dry laugh.  


“I certainly remember something, but… so much of that is hard to tell what was real, and what wasn’t.”  


“You were apparently hallucinating wildly,” Talanah quipped, laughing, as well.  


The two of them slowly fell silent, once again, before the Carja cleared her throat.  


“So, when… whatever it was that happened when… when Elisabet somehow ended up as a machine mind, like GAIA… it took all of your memories?”  


Aloy’s lips pulled into a thin line as she shifted her position uncomfortably.  


“They’re not all gone,” she began, “but I… I don’t entirely know if they’re… _my_ memories…”  


She thought she noticed Talanah’s face go slightly paler as the huntress swallowed visibly.  


“So… you… everything you said…?”  


Aloy looked to her with some confusion as Talanah suddenly let out a heavy sigh and pushed away from the console, beginning to pace along the row of them to her right.  


“I want to know… if the person I’ve talked to and gotten to know for the past almost four months was a lie. I want to know if I’ve lost a… a friend.”  


Aloy’s face paled as she stood up straight, pushing away from the wall.  


“Talanah…”  


“You just admitted to me that what you remember of that whole time, you’re not even sure they’re _your_ memories!”  


The Carja’s voice had a hard edge to it, but Aloy could just pick up the hint of a waver in her tone, as well.  


“Is the person I’ve known this whole time _you_ —Aloy—or was it someone else?”  


“I—”  


“Because you seemed to make a pretty strong case that it was someone else before, and so did… _she_.”  


“I did—”  


“So what is it?”  


“Well,” Aloy cut in, her tone laced with hints of irritation, as she folded her arms over her chest, once again, “it sounds like you’ve already made up your mind.”  


“No, I… that’s why…”  


Talanah let out a frustrated growl before turning on her heel and stalking back to Aloy, coming to a stop a foot or two in front of her.  


“I’ve lost enough people in my life, and I don’t want to lose someone else I finally felt close to, again!”  


Aloy continued to stare back at her with a wide-eyed expression as Talanah refused to look away, her gaze trapping the redhead’s with its intensity. The expression that almost seemed like rage or irritation slowly began to fade, however, leaving behind something much more vulnerable. Something suddenly gripped Aloy’s upper arms and she realized that it was Talanah’s hands, the tremble in them seemingly resonating throughout her body.  


“Please, Aloy… tell me. I need to know.”  


Even if any words had come to her mind, Aloy didn’t seem able to speak, as her tongue felt as if it had swollen to fill the inside of her mouth. As each second passed, Talanah’s grip grew firmer, until finally the faint stabs of pain that spread from each point seemed to provide the kick the redhead needed to regain control of her voice.  


“I remember all of it, Talanah, in some way, and… while it may not have been my choice what I said at the time… it doesn’t mean that I disagree with it. I just… I need some time to sort things out… for myself, too.”  


Several tense seconds followed before Talanah gave a small nod, finally breaking her eye contact with Aloy to glance down at her hands. Seemingly realizing what she was doing, she quickly released the redhead, bringing a tingling sensation to her lower arms as the blood suddenly rushed to them.  


“I… I understand…”  


A tight feeling appeared in Aloy’s chest and she found one hand reaching toward the other huntress, but she paused halfway through the motion, suddenly unsure what exactly she had intended to do.  


“I-I don’t mean that as a way to try to… shrug off what you asked,” she began softly, her voice somewhat raspy, “I just… it’s been a lot for me, too.”  


Talanah nodded, but continued to remain silent as she folded her arms over her chest, seemingly unsure what to do with her hands, now, as she rubbed them slowly up and down her upper arms.  


“I… if you’re able to just give me some time for that to happen…”  


The dark-haired girl nodded, again, but the expression on her face said much more.  


“I should get some sleep,” Talanah mumbled, and began to turn away.  


Aloy opened her mouth, as if to say something, but no words came, leaving in her in silence, with one hand partially outstretched toward the Carja huntress as she trudged away, making no hurry to exit the control room, but keeping her arms folded before her as she walked.  


As soon as she had stepped through the doors, however, Aloy let out the breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding as a heavy sigh, which quickly turned into a growl of frustration as she whirled to the nearest thing to her and kicked out toward it. Her boot collided with the edge of the nearest console, sending a shockwave of pain racing from the sole of her foot all the way to her hip, but she ignored it, even as she began to limp slightly as she paced.  


“Kiddo…”  


“Don’t—you even—!”  


Aloy whirled on the softly glowing image of the other redhead that had now appeared in the center of the room behind her.  


“I didn’t mean to—”  


“You didn’t mean to do a lot of things!” Aloy snapped, stepping closer to Elisabet. “How was I supposed to answer her?!”  


“You were honest.”  


“And look where that ended up!”  


Aloy angrily rubbed at her face with both hands before lashing out at the air blindly, eventually letting her arms fall to her sides, once again.  


“Guess I should have learned a bit about lying, too…”  


“Aloy!”  


She glanced over at the holographic image beside her to see an expression that somehow covered anger, shock, and sadness all in one on Elisabet’s face.  


“Don’t say that!” Elisabet continued, her tone matching the uncertainty of her expression. “What good would that have done you, either, if you had lied?”  


“One of the only other three people in this place wouldn’t hate me.”  


“She doesn’t _hate_ you,” Elisabet sighed. “Just like you, she’s had her world turned upside down so many times lately. You’re feeling overwhelmed, and she is, too.”  


“You certainly seem quite attuned to her.”  


“I have more experience reading all kinds of people than you, kiddo.”  


“Don’t—” Aloy sucked in a breath sharply through her teeth, “don’t call me that.”  


Elisabet’s expression definitively settled on sadness as Aloy shook her head, whirling to kneel down beside the food supplies on the ground. She set about taking a long drink from one of the canteens before moving on to the last of the berries someone had brought back from their last outing. She became aware of something out of the corner of her eye and she glanced over to find the image of Elisabet crouched beside her, as well, one hand outstretched toward her shoulder, but stopped just short of it.  


“I’m sorry, Aloy,” she said, her voice barely louder than a whisper, although clearly audible through the Focus next to the girl’s ear.  


The huntress looked like she wanted to say something for a moment before sighing and turning her attention back to the food items before her, grabbing a small burlap bag and taking some of the hard tree nuts from within.  


“You felt something for her, didn’t you?” she finally said, staring blankly into the top of the bag.  


After several moments of silence, she glanced over at Elisabet to see her hanging her head, seemingly haven taken a seated position on the ground beside her, arms braced on her knees.  


“I… maybe.”  


Aloy continued to study her for several moments, shifting the bag in her hand slightly.  


“I can tell,” she continued. “The memories might feel a bit like dreams, but… _intent_ is there.”  


Silence pervaded for several long moments before Elisabet spoke again, her voice soft and somewhat raspy.  


“She reminds me so much of people I knew… before,” she began. “Of… a _person_ I knew before…”  


Aloy’s eyes glazed over for a moment before she spoke, her tone almost as if she were in some kind of trance.  


“Samina.”  


Elisabet’s head instantly lifted as she stared back at Aloy in surprise.  


“H-how…?”  


Aloy blinked several times, the alertness coming back to her eyes as she focused on Elisabet, once again.  


“Like I said, both the memory and the intent are there.”  


The holographic redhead slowly shook her head as she let out a heavy, shaking sigh, her gaze fixing on something on the ground before Aloy. She followed her gaze until she saw one of the brown, wooden jugs still sitting against the wall.  


“You know, I suddenly find myself wishing I could actually still have some of that.”  


“Really? After the last time?”  


Elisabet let out a short laugh, glancing over at Aloy.  


“That was nothing. You should have seen my college days.”  


Aloy made a face of disgust, shivering.  


“I don’t think I want to experience that.”  


“That’s probably for the best.”  


Silence fell over them, once again, before Aloy finally sighed and tied the bag in her hand shut, once again, replacing it with the other supplies.  


“I would say I need to sleep, but… I kind of just woke up,” she mumbled.  


“I get you.”  


Aloy sighed, rising to her feet a moment later.  


“Petra was still up the last I heard on the way over here, maybe I’ll see what she’s up to.”  


The image of Elisabet nodded and Aloy began to turn away, but the sound of snapping fingers prompted her to stop and glance back.  


“When everyone’s up in the morning—or just once everyone has some rest and wakes up next—we all need to talk, in here.”  


“About what?”  


“GAIA and I want to make sure we’re all on the same page about what needs to happen next.”  


Aloy raised one eyebrow.  


“And that is?”  


“We’ll talk about it later.”  


The image of Elisabet gave her a coy smirk and Aloy frowned slightly, but eventually sighed and rolled her eyes dramatically.  


“If you insist.”

  


  


Several hours later, once Erend had finally appeared from the apartments below and greeted the somewhat bleary-eyed Aloy and Petra in the workshop, GAIA managed to corral them into the control room. As they arrived, Aloy glanced around, but there was no sign of Talanah.  


“I have asked her to come here, directly,” GAIA said, drawing Aloy’s attention back to her.  


She didn’t reply, but simply pulled her lips into a thin line and nodded, rubbing at her eyes tiredly with both hands.  


“When even is it, outside?” Petra mumbled, yawning deeply a moment later.  


“Just after sunrise,” Elisabet stated, suddenly appearing beside GAIA, prompting a surprised expression from Erend.  


“This place messes with my head,” the Oseram woman grumbled.  


“Hold on… what… uh… what happened to her?” Erend chimed in, gesturing to the image of Elisabet.  


“What?” she replied, before glancing down at herself and laughing sheepishly. “Oh, right. Um… this is how I looked… at one time.”  


“How does that work?”  


“Let’s just say I can bend the rules a little bit, now.”  


Erend glanced to Aloy, but she simply offered a defeated shrug. Finally, with a sigh, he shook his head, glancing back over at Petra.  


“I’m starting to feel that way, too.”  


A few moments later, the doors to the Control Room slid open and the final member of the group arrived, her hair loose around her shoulders, for once, in a wild, messy mane that looked as if she had simply risen from her bedroll and walked straight to the room.  


Aloy tried to catch her eye as she entered, but the dark-haired huntress kept her gaze locked on the floor until she took a spot on the far side of Petra, folding her arms over her chest and glancing up at GAIA and Elisabet before recoiling slightly at the image of the redhead, as well. She didn’t make a comment, like Erend, but quickly glanced over at Aloy, only to turn her attention back to the holographic images almost immediately. The younger redhead swallowed painfully, but turned her attention back to the two glowing women before them.  


“So, I know you’re all wondering why the hell we called you here,” Elisabet began, “so I won’t waste any time. “Even after—recent events—one of the main reasons we came here was to start trying to fix the GAIA Prime system and the subordinate functions. As you’ve seen, ELEUTHIA and GAIA are up and running, now, but there are 8 more.  


“The versions as contained on those drives,” Elisabet continued, gesturing to the small stacks of sleek, black devices on the ground by the console at the front of the room, “are their most basic versions, as they were finished when they left Zero Dawn. They are not the ones that actually rebuilt the planet after the Swarm.”  


Elisabet turned to GAIA, who took over the explanation.  


“The ideal outcome would be to reconnect all of these escaped subordinate functions and utilize their combined experience and knowledge to carry on where they left off prior to the events that led to the destruction of GAIA Prime.”  


“To do that, though,” Elisabet cut back in, beginning to pace before the group, “we will need to use some of these original copies.”  


“Which ones?” Petra asked.  


“First and foremost, GAIA and I feel that MINERVA would be highly beneficial.”  


“What does that one do?” Talanah asked, her voice rough and raspy, matching her appearance.  


“MINERVA was utilized to crack the Faro robots’ code and decommission them, much like the Master Override did during the battle of Meridian,” Elisabet explained. “In addition to code-cracking, she was responsible for controlling the towers like the Spire.”  


“Wait… there’s more Spires?” Talanah interrupted, perking up suddenly.  


“Yes, many,” GAIA nodded. “What Elisabet has shared that you call the Spire is a part of MINERVA’s relay node network.”  


“Hold on, that’s a lot of words that I don’t know the meaning of, entirely,” Petra chimed in.  


“Those towers transmit signals,” Elisabet interjected, grinning. “They can communicate across huge distances. If we’re able to use MINERVA to help us tap into them, we would be one big step closer to finding the other subfunctions.”  


“What happens if we find the original MINERVA?” Erend suddenly asked, bringing everyone’s attention to him. “What if it’s—she’s—still in the Spire, itself?”  


Everyone glanced at each other in silence. Even Elisabet didn’t have an immediate answer.  


“Well, I suppose we’ll have to take that as we come to it,” the holographic redhead finally said, nodding slowly.  


She and GAIA exchanged glances before Elisabet cleared her throat and turned back to the rest of the group.  


“Well, so… to get started with that, we’ll need to get proto-MINERVA set up… but we have one problem.”  


The room was silent as four pairs of eyes remained locked on the holographic woman, her pacing coming to a stop in the middle of their small, semi-circle.  


“We don’t have enough room in this facility to upload another full-fledged AI, even one not as complex as GAIA.”  


Silence fell over the room for several long moments before Aloy’s voice broke it.  


“I’m assuming you’re not suggesting we remove any of you three, then.”  


Elisabet gave her an odd look before nodding slowly.  


“Right.”  


Another pregnant pause followed before Petra sighed.  


“So what’s your suggestion?”  


Elisabet grinned, turning to Aloy.  


“You know the place.”  


Confusion creased the younger redhead’s face as Elisabet looked even more amused.  


“There’s another bunker not far from here, still in Nora lands,” she continued.  


Suddenly, Aloy’s eyes went wide as her posture straightened.  


“How do you know about that?” she blurted out, surprising the rest of the group with the volume of her voice so suddenly.  


“I was ‘with’ you when you went there, remember?”  


Aloy continued to stare back at her with the same wide-eyed expression for several moments before realization seemed to dawn on her and she nodded slowly.  


“Also, I… remember it on my own.”  


The others exchanged strange glances, but remained silent as Elisabet cleared her throat and began to turn back to the rest of the group.  


“It’s a total ruin, though,” Aloy suddenly said, bringing everyone’s attention back to her. “Not like this place. I don’t remember much of anything functioning there.”  


“Its main control system is more than likely offline,” Elisabet countered, folding her arms over her chest, “but from what I recall of—our—adventure into it recently, there’s just enough power to operate auxiliary systems.”  


Silence greeted her explanation, prompting her to heave a heavy sigh.  


“We can probably find a way to use what power it does have for our own purposes… make it work, as they say.”  


“Okay…” Petra said slowly, folding her arms over her chest as she twisted somewhat restlessly in place, chewing the inside of her cheek. “So you expect us to not only figure out how to get an even more destroyed ruin up and running almost like this one, but somehow do something with another one of those machine minds, all on our own?”  


“Not alone,” Elisabet replied, confusion creasing her face.  


“Well, it’s not exactly like you can come with us, right now,” she pointed out. “You and GAIA can’t exactly walk out the front door and come with to wherever this place is.”  


“No, we can’t, but…” the redhead replied, grinning as she turned to GAIA, who smiled in response before turning her gaze to Petra.  


“I have an idea.”  


The Oseram raised her eyebrows slightly as an image suddenly flickered into existence in the air between GAIA and Elisabet. Aloy tilted her head slightly as she looked it over, trying to figure out exactly what it could be. The image seemed to be something constructed of multiple machine parts, with a rather square base supporting a tall, thin rod that pointed toward the sky.  


“I have designed a portable relay node utilizing parts from the various machines that inhabit the Nora lands, as documented in Aloy’s Focus.”  


The others glanced over at the redhead, who now wore a small frown as her fingers absentmindedly reached toward her Focus before running back through her hair in forced nonchalance.  


“So… what is that in plain terms?” Erend asked, turning back to the holographic women.  


“It is essentially a smaller, more portable version of something like the Spire,” GAIA explained. “This device would be able to broadcast and receive signals, thereby extending the range of the network from this facility to the bunker Elisabet has described.”  


“So we’re making our own network?” Aloy suddenly chimed in, her expression still bearing more than a hint of skepticism.  


“More or less,” GAIA replied, nodding.  


“This will not be quite as broad as the Eclipse’s,” Elisabet chimed in, her expression changing to one of understanding as she stepped through the image of GAIA’s design to approach Aloy.  


“But we’re still opening up a network…”  


“One that will be highly monitored and controlled by GAIA and me,” Elisabet countered. “No one is going to sneak in the back when we’re not looking.”  


Aloy didn’t look entirely convinced, but fell silent as she folded her arms over her chest, her lips still set in a slight frown. Elisabet looked like she wanted to say more, but simply let out a sigh, instead, before turning back to the rest of the group.  


“So… what say you all?”  


The other three exchanged glances before all turning to Aloy, who shrunk away from their gazes slightly.  


“Why are you all looking to me?”  


“I think we’re all in agreement,” Petra replied. “You were just voicing concerns, though…”  


“No, it’s—it’s fine, then,” she said quickly. “We’ll build the thing and hopefully we can get the ruin to work… somehow.”  


Her tone did nothing to hide her irritation and skepticism, but Petra either decided it was good enough of an answer or that she didn’t want to linger on it any longer, and turned back to the holographic women.  


“So, what do we need?”  


GAIA gave them a list of necessary parts that all came from either Scrappers or Sawtooths, it seemed, which prompted Petra to glance over at Erend.  


“So, guess it’s time to put your big mouth to the test,” she quipped.  


“What, you’re saying I can’t hold my own on a hunt?”  


“Well, if every machine didn’t hear you coming from a mile away, maybe we would have taken you outside more often, already,” Aloy jabbed, smirking.  


“I can handle myself,” he shot back.  


“I’m not wrong.”  


“You can’t prove it.”  


“Oh, I can.”  


“Okay, okay, that is enough for how early it is and how long I’ve been awake,” Petra interjected, rubbing her temples forcefully.  


Aloy gave her a look before turning back to Erend and shrugging.  


“I’m standing by it.”  


He looked like he wanted to say something for a moment before sighing and shaking his head.  


“So,” Petra said loudly, bringing the group’s attention back to her, “you three get the parts and bring ‘em back to me?”  


Erend shot Aloy a look, but nodded. Talanah gave a small nod, but otherwise said nothing and didn’t meet anyone’s gaze. Aloy stared around at the rest of them for a few moments before sighing and shrugging.  


“Yeah, I… let’s do it.”  


They all returned to their rooms to gather equipment for the hunt, where Aloy decided to swap her brightly-colored Carja silk outfit for the much earthier tones of a Nora Brave’s armor.  


“No sense in making this more difficult than it has to be.”  


Once she was fully dressed, she grabbed her bow and spear, slinging them across her back, along with her belt and attached quiver. As she was finishing securing the last pieces of her armor in place, the impression of light and motion out of the corner of her eye drew her attention to the center of the barren room.  


The image of Elisabet stood before her, a small frown twisting her lips.  


“You’re concerned,” she said quietly.  


Aloy let out a dry laugh.  


“That’s putting it lightly.”  


“You don’t have to be.”  


“It’s not—” Aloy began, her voice raised, before she caught herself, clenching her jaw tightly for a moment before taking a deep breath through her nose and continuing in a more normal tone. “It’s not that I don’t believe you, I just… have a bad feeling.”  


Elisabet’s frown deepened as she began to pace across the width of the room.  


“Is it just the idea of the network, itself?”  


“I don’t know,” Aloy replied, throwing her arms into the air. “I just do.”  


Elisabet sighed, coming to a stop in front of Aloy, the slightly glowing hazel eyes locking onto hers.  


“Fixing GAIA and the subfunctions is a good thing, right?”  


Aloy hesitated for a moment, but nodded.  


“This is the first step to doing that,” she pressed further. “You should know: if you’re going to try to save the world, sometimes you’ve gotta take some risks.”  


The younger redhead paused, yet again, but nodded, adjusting the position of her bow over her shoulders absentmindedly.  


“I don’t want to keep you; the others are waiting.”  


Aloy nodded, yet again, offering a weak smile before turning and slipping out of her apartment. Not long after, she approached the large entrance to the facility, finding all three of her companions milling about.  


“I thought you were staying here, Petra.”  


She glanced up at the sound of Aloy’s voice, smirking.  


“I decided I needed some fresh air, too. I know better than to invite myself on the hunt, though.”  


Aloy shrugged.  


“Makes sense.”  


A quick glance at Erend was enough to notice how he played with the strap that held his large, Oseram hammer to his back. It seemed Petra wasn’t the only person itching to get outside.  


When she turned to Talanah, however, she found almost the exact opposite in her body language. The Carja stood with her arms folded over her chest, casually swinging one foot back and forth across the ground before her, sending small pebbles skittering away with each pass. Her head was also down, not looking up to acknowledge any of the other three. Aloy’s jaw clenched for a moment as she grappled with the urge to say something, but in the end, she simply turned to the large door and stepped between the group, holding her hand over the holographic lock and twisting it.  


The passageway outside the facility was, once again, thankfully empty as the small party made their way to the bright light at the top. As soon as they stepped outside, all of them took deep breaths of the chilly mountain air. Aloy could feel the energy returning to her limbs as the heavy, constrictive feeling in her chest quickly began to melt away. The others seemed to be affected similarly, with Erend and Talanah both shaking out their limbs and stretching each one of them slightly.  


“Got the list?” Petra asked, swinging her arms loosely at her sides.  


Aloy quickly tapped her Focus, bringing up the interface around her, along with a singular box in the center of her field of view.  


“Got it.”  


“All right, I’ll be waiting for you all when you return, then.”  


With a smirk, Petra clapped her hands before her, glancing around at the three of them.  


“Happy hunting.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As they say, "big things coming."
> 
> See y'all next week.


	20. Field Trip

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Monday, y'all.
> 
> We've had a lot of talking lately.
> 
> How about a bit of a change of pace?

Aloy crouched in a patch of tall grass atop the high ground that surrounded the small spring and waterfall that always seemed to have a pack of Scrappers milling about it, but this time, there were even more machine corpses for them to pillage, so the pack was larger than normal. The redhead shifted her grip on her bow and its nocked arrow as she glanced around the outer rim of raised ground. She could make out the dark speck that was Talanah’s head against another patch of tall grass several yards away, while she knew Erend was hopefully hanging back until any actual fight broke out.  


A loud whistle from her right quickly brought her attention back to the pack of machines just as one of them whirled around, eyes glowing yellow, and began to stalk toward the grass where Talanah hid. A few moments later, when it had drawn within only a foot or so of the first, tall stalks, motion from within the patch suddenly shot toward it, and a spear quickly drove into the machine’s jaws, sending a shower of sparks into the air.  


The Scrapper jerked and shook involuntarily for a moment or two before the lights in its eyes faded and the sounds of its internal machinery powering down filled the air. Several of the other Scrappers seemed to take notice and began to turn toward the sound of their fallen comrade. As the first one began to stalk toward the scene, Aloy quickly drew her bow and took aim at the one behind it. A moment later, her arrow had cleaved the power cell clean off the back of the second Scrapper, instantly putting it on full alert as its eyes turned red and it whirled around, trying to find what had hit it. When it didn’t find anything approaching from behind, it began to turn back around, only to pause as it seemed to lock eyes with Aloy.  


A moment later, a second arrow had slammed into one of its eyes, and it also fell to the ground in a powerless, limp heap. The remaining on-alert Scrapper whirled around at the sounds of the struggle, seemingly confused, but it was enough of a distraction for Talanah to suddenly burst forward from cover, already holding her spear at the ready. A moment later, she had driven it into the back of the Scrapper, straight through the power cell.  


Sparks and several bolts of blue electricity shot from the contact point, but the Scrapper soon fell still, like the other two. With a heavy sigh, Aloy glanced to the other two or three Scrappers that were working nearby, only to find that they had all turned from their machine corpses to start moving toward their fallen companions.  


“Shit…”  


She drew another arrow from her quiver before glancing over her shoulder. Erend remained kneeling beside a large rock just out of view from the lip of the raised ground around the spring, but as Aloy turned to him, he raised his eyebrows expectantly. Without saying a word, she nodded toward the situation with the machines ahead of her and he rose to his feet, holding his hammer at the ready.  


Aloy quickly turned back to the scene to find Talanah had holstered her spear and had drawn her bow, as well, taking aim at one of the approaching Scrappers. As soon as she loosed the arrow, all three of them went on high alert, although one of them quickly staggered backward as the arrow slammed into its face. The redhead loosed an arrow of her own toward the same machine, sending it to the ground in another, sputtering heap.  


A moment later, one of the two Scrappers let out a mechanical growl and charged forward, closing the gap between itself and Talanah within only seconds. Aloy leapt to her feet, bracing to charge toward the scene, but a moment later the machine had tumbled harmlessly passed the other huntress as she had deftly slipped to her right and out of its grasp. A bright light in the distance caught the redhead’s attention a moment later, and she glanced up, only to quickly scramble for one of her arrows in her quiver, nocking it to her bow as quickly as her fingers would let her.  


The remaining Scrapper’s mining laser was nearly charged as she loosed an arrow in its direction. Just before the metal tip slammed into the power cell on the back of the machine, it loosed a small beam that shot straight across the open ground before finally slamming into the side of the embankment where Aloy stood. The bright light was immediately cut off once its power supply was gone, but she wasn’t worried about the machine, itself, anymore.  


Talanah was crouched on the ground, glancing between the machine in the distance and the one before her that was now staggering about, one of its legs seemingly not functioning correctly. The dark-haired huntress wasn’t holding any part of herself in pain, so Aloy breathed a momentary sigh of relief before turning to Erend beside her.  


“Close one,” he remarked.  


“Yeah,” she nodded. “Your turn.”  


With a chuckle, he took off down the hill as quickly as he dared, gripping his Oseram hammer tightly in both hands. Aloy slung her bow over her shoulders before removing her spear in one continuous, fluid motion and took off after him. A moment later, Erend raised his hammer over his head before slamming it down on the head of the Scrapper, slamming the machine into the dirt and bringing its motions to a sudden halt.  


The final Scrapper in the distance let out a roar, seemingly at the loss of its companion, before charging forward. Aloy rushed past Erend and the machine, placing one foot on its back and using it to throw herself into the air. As the final Scrapper closed the last few feet, Aloy swung her spear over her head before slamming it down into the top of the machine’s head. The spear tip burst from its jaws as the blades on it slowed to a stop and the red lights of its eyes quickly extinguished.  


Once Aloy ripped her spear free, the machine fell onto its side and lay still, like the rest of its companions. With a heavy sigh, the redhead turned back to the other two to find them looking at her with amused expressions.  


“What?”  


“Show off,” Talanah jabbed.  


Aloy rolled her eyes but approached the Scrapper before Erend, swinging her spear back into its holsters behind her.  


“I’m sorry if I tried to have a little fun.”  


The other huntress rolled her eyes, now, but Aloy caught the smirk still on her lips.  


“You know, I’m actually a little sad neither of you have asked me to come out on one of these before,” Erend chimed in. “Sure beats sitting around that dark ruin all day.”  


“Like I said before,” Aloy began.  


“You’d give us away too soon,” Talanah finished.  


He glanced between them for a moment before shaking his head and letting out a loud “pssh.” The two huntresses exchanged amused looks before each of them seemed to pause, and Talanah’s faltered for a moment. Aloy quickly cleared her throat, nodding back toward the Scrapper behind her.  


“Close one,” she said. “Had to save you from a Scrapper laser again.”  


Talanah nodded slowly before pausing, her eyes out of focus but staring ahead at something behind Erend. Finally, she turned back to Aloy, a look of something like surprise on her face.  


“Again?”  


Aloy nodded.  


“Again…”  


The other huntress continued to stare at her for a few moments before the sound of Erend clearing his throat broke her seeming trance and brought both of their attentions to him.  


“So… uh… we gonna collect those parts GAIA asked for?”  


Aloy nodded, wiping her hands on her skirt before gesturing to the Scrapper behind her.  


“I’ll get started on that one. You got this one?”  


“I… uh… don’t know if I know a whole lot about tearing these things apart.”  


“I’ll help, then,” Talanah offered, stepping up to the Scrapper, as well. “I think she wanted multiples of most of those things, right?”  


“Couldn’t hurt, at least,” Aloy shrugged.  


Talanah nodded and turned back to Erend.  


“Look, see this part?”  


Within a matter of minutes, they had managed to collect more than the requested amounts of the various parts from the Scrappers, and Erend had been saddled with the task of carrying the haul in a large bag that had originally been used to store one of the bedrolls. With a sigh, Aloy closed the interface of her Focus, glancing around at the other two.  


“That just leaves the Sawtooths.”  


Talanah nodded as Erend’s lips pulled into a thin line.  


“Don’t worry, we’ll take lead,” Aloy replied, smirking at Erend before glancing at Talanah. “Ready?”  


The huntress nodded, grinning as well, as they turned and followed after Aloy toward where she had marked a typical hunting ground for Sawtooths nearby. As they approached a large rock formation that looked almost as if it had fallen off the side of the mountain at one time, long ago, the heavy thudding and whirring that gave away the patrolling machine’s presence prompted all of them to drop into cover wherever they could find it. Aloy and Erend dipped behind another large boulder, half-embedded in the ground, as Talanah slid into a patch of tall grass, remaining nearly prone on the ground as they all held their breaths.  


A moment later, the machine appeared from behind the large rock ahead, its eyes still blue and seemingly following a patrolling pattern, but the mere sight of it was enough to make Aloy tense up.  


“ _Seen much bigger ones by now…_ ”  


With a deep breath, Aloy glanced over her shoulder at Erend.  


“Stay here unless you hear it going wrong.”  


“And what’s the signs for that?”  


“Probably frantic screaming.”  


“Oh, good.”  


With a smirk, Aloy glanced around the edge of the rock to find the Sawtooth moving away from them, farther into the small copse of trees on the other side of the massive rock formation. She quickly slipped from cover, scurrying across the open ground until she came to a stop crouched beside Talanah in the tall grass.  


“What’s your preference: lay some traps and wait, or one baits while the other takes it down?” she whispered.  


The other huntress glanced over at her for a moment before turning back to the machine in the distance.  


“Some of both?”  


Aloy nodded.  


“Some of both.”  


A few moments later, Aloy had set an exploding trap made out of a handheld bomb and a small section of rope tied to a tree across the Sawtooth’s projected path, as provided by her Focus. Talanah rigged her own shock trap in the midst of a patch of slightly taller grass between the exploding one and the cover she and Aloy had agreed upon in the first patch of tall grass Talanah had chosen.  


At the sound of the pounding footsteps of the large machine returning, they quickly bolted for cover, sliding into the patch of grass and dropping to nearly prone positions within it. Several tense seconds passed as the sounds of the machine grew louder and louder until it finally appeared from behind the rock formation. The huntresses held their breaths until the machine finally took the final step over the tripwire Aloy had set up.  


A moment later, a loud explosion ripped across the open ground as a burst of fire and smoke engulfed the front half of the large machine. It let out a mechanical roar as it staggered to one side, crashing into a tree and sending it toppling to the ground. A few moments later, the Sawtooth recovered from the blow and began to look around for what had deigned to attack it. With a tap to the shoulder, Talanah quickly scurried to the right, staying low to the ground as she made her way to another point of cover. Meanwhile, Aloy took her bow from over her shoulders and nocked an arrow, taking a deep breath before rising to a kneeling position and loosing the projectile toward the large machine.  


The arrowhead struck it in the side, doing little damage, but drawing its attention instantly toward her. Its eyes turned a glaring red as it began to work its hind legs in anticipation of springing forward. Aloy took a deep breath as she waited for it to make its move. She didn’t need to wait long, however, as it suddenly charged forward across the open ground.  


It had closed only about half of the gap before a bright flash suddenly enveloped the machine, a loud crackling accompanying it. The Sawtooth seemed to convulse mid-step before tripping over its own legs and slamming into the ground with enough force to shake the dirt beneath the redhead’s feet, several yards away. Lines of bright blue light rippled across the machine’s armor as it continued to twitch and convulse slightly, although it appeared unable to actually move in any form of voluntary way.  


Seizing her opportunity, Aloy quickly leapt from her spot in the grass and charged toward the machine, swinging her bow over her shoulders and drawing her spear, instead. She caught a flurry of motion from her right out of her peripheral, but she didn’t dare take her focus away from the large machine before her. Just as she was closing the final few yards, the Sawtooth seemed to recover from the shock trap and began to lift itself from the ground.  


Aloy raised the spear over her head as she skidded to a stop beside the machine, gripping the wooden staff with her other hand, as well. A moment later, she drove the blade straight down through the side of the Sawtooth’s head. The machine flinched and convulsed, once again, but continued to try to throw her off. A moment later, however, another spear suddenly materialized from her before her and drove into its neck. The Sawtooth let out a high-pitched mechanical whine before its motions began to slow and it eventually lay still.  


Once it hadn’t moved for several long seconds, Aloy sighed and yanked her spear loose from the machine. She glanced up to find Talanah pulling hers free of its neck, as well. Their gazes met for a moment and they both grinned.  


“That was easier than I expected.”  


“Yeah, I know.”  


They both laughed before Aloy glanced back to find Erend making his way across the open ground, carrying the large bag with their previous bounty over one shoulder.  


“If screaming was the sign of things going wrong, I could only assume laughing was the sign of them going right,” he called.  


Aloy shrugged.  


“Guess so.”  


When she turned back to Talanah she found her kicking the side of the machine, eying its head, warily.  


“Not convinced?”  


“It felt too easy.”  


Aloy frowned slightly.  


“You know—”  


Just then, a loud whirring from before them caused Aloy’s eyes to widen moments before Talanah was knocked clean off her feet by the powerful front paw of the Sawtooth. The redhead quickly scrambled to bring her spear around, but the Sawtooth suddenly bucked its head, ramming her in the stomach and throwing her off her feet, as well. She hit the ground with a heavy thud and an explosion of pain across her back, an involuntary cry of pain bursting from her lips. The continued rumbling in the ground beneath her was enough to push her past the momentary daze and drag herself to a position on her hands and knees.  


The Sawtooth’s eyes had come to life, once again, as it struggled to its feet, sparks occasionally spurting from the gaping wounds in its head and neck. Aloy quickly glanced past the machine to see a shape slowly moving on the ground a yard or two away and assumed it had to be Talanah.  


“ _Motion’s good… motion means alive._ ”  


Aloy grit her teeth as she forced herself to her feet, once again, reaching for her spear only to realize that it was no longer in her hands, nor in its holster on her back. She scanned the ground in a panic before locating it a yard or two ahead of her… and very close to the Sawtooth. She swore under her breath as she looked back up at the machine, which was still trying to decide which one of them to focus on. A moment later, it appeared to settle on Aloy, as it began to slowly advance on her.  


She eyed how close one of its feet came to stepping on her spear before beginning to slowly back away from it, herself. The machine’s head and neck twitched slightly every second or two, while one of its eyes seemed to blink on and off in a similar, frenetic pattern.  


“Clever son of a—”  


A moment later, something suddenly slammed into it from the side, sending the machine reeling, before it recovered and whirled toward its new attacker. Aloy glanced over to find Erend raising his hammer, once again, swinging it wide to his side before raising it over his head. The Sawtooth suddenly lunged forward, swiping with its large, metal claws, but the heavy Oseram hammer caught them moments before they reached its owner. The machine let out a sound somewhere between a whine and a roar as it staggered and nearly lost its balance with one crippled foot.  


A moment later, Aloy had collected herself enough to rush forward, weaving around the front of the machine as it lazily tried to turn toward her, before quickly swiping her spear off the ground, the tail end of the staff only inches from being under Sawtooth’s foot. As she did, she flipped it around in her hand before dropping to one knee and driving the tip forward into the machine’s underbelly, slipping the tip between two plates of armor. As soon as she did, she heard some loud mechanical snapping sounds from within, only for the Sawtooth to stagger and fall to the ground, a moment later. It still continued to move, swiping feebly at Erend with its broken claws, only for the Oseram to raise his hammer over his head, once again, and slam it down on the Sawtooth’s head.  


The machine gave one last shudder before finally falling still, its metal skull almost entirely obliterated under the force of the heavy weapon. With a sigh, Aloy ripped her spear free of its side and used it to help drag herself to her feet. Once standing, she made her way around the corpse of the machine, rolling her shoulders and groaning as she held her spear loosely at her side.  


“I didn’t think they were that smart,” Erend panted, nodding toward the machine.  


“Me neither,” she replied, frowning.  


A moment later, her eyes caught the shape on the ground several yards away and her eyes widened. She slipped around Erend and quickly took off toward the slowly moving form of Talanah on the ground. As she came to her side, she skidded to a stop, dropping her spear and kneeling beside the huntress.  


“Are you okay?”  


Talanah groaned and made a noncommittal sound as she continued to attempt to pull herself to a sitting position.  


“I’m starting to understand how you felt when you told me you were trampled by a Strider,” she managed.  


Aloy laughed, but it wasn’t entirely convincing. The redhead bit her lower lip as the Carja finally managed to get herself to a sitting position and braced herself with one arm out behind her, while the other rubbed at her left side painfully.  


“When did they start playing tricks?” she mumbled, eying the downed machine behind Aloy.  


“Guess we underestimated it.”  


Talanah let out a short laugh before wincing and rubbing at her side, once again.  


“Easy… I—uh—know it can be painful…”  


Talanah gave her a look as Aloy smiled sheepishly.  


“GAIA and Elisabet owe us when we get back.”  


The redhead laughed.  


“I don’t know how exactly they could repay us.”  


“Then maybe you can.”  


Aloy paused for a moment, her brow furrowed as she stared down at Talanah.  


“Me?”  


“Yeah, you.”  


She searched the Carja huntress’s eyes for several long seconds before they broke their intensity, instead reflecting the grin that had creased her features.  


“I’m only kidding.”  


Aloy swallowed heavily and gave an awkward half-smile before glancing back toward Erend, who had remained near the machine, resting with the handle of his hammer as a stand to hold him upright.  


“You good to get back on your feet, then?” she asked, turning back to Talanah.  


The other woman nodded, sighing heavily and rubbing at her side, once again.  


“The walk back isn’t going to be fun.”  


Aloy offered another sheepish grin and Talanah rolled her eyes.  


“I’m not dying, okay?”  


Aloy laughed and rose to her feet, offering a hand in assistance. Talanah grabbed it tightly and pulled strongly on Aloy’s arm as she dragged herself to her feet. Finally, once standing, she groaned, pressing her hand into her side more forcefully.  


“Okay, it’s really going to be like that…”  


Aloy glanced down at her side before looking back up at her face, biting her lower lip slowly in thought.  


“Unless you’ve got a magic, total pain-erasing solution, I’ll deal,” the Carja girl quipped, smirking.  


“Sorry, I’m not as good as Janna,” she shot back.  


Talanah tilted her head to the side before letting out a “huh.”  


“I don’t know about that,” she said. “I feel like you could take the pain away if you tried.”  


Aloy raised her eyebrows, but the Carja girl simply smirked and began to limp back toward Erend and the machine without another word. When the redhead finally recovered from her daze, she shook her head and spun on her heel to quickly follow after. As Talanah wasn’t particularly in a state to be physically exerting herself in tearing apart a machine, Aloy was forced to show Erend and ask for help when certain metal plates required two pairs of hands to remove.  


Finally, though, they managed to remove all of the parts on GAIA’s list and store them in the bag with the Scrapper parts. With a heavy sigh, Erend twisted the top of the bag before glancing around at the two girls.  


“So… bring these to Petra?”  


They nodded and Erend shouldered the bag with a grunt.  


“As much as I don’t cherish the thought of returning to the underground so soon, the sooner we get this thing built, the sooner we leave, right?”  


They all exchanged glances before slowly nodding, the other two’s gazes falling on Aloy last.  


“I mean… I guess so,” she shrugged. “I’m about as in the loop with this as you are.”  


The other two exchanged glances before Erend shifted the bag and nodded in the direction they had come.  


“Well, let’s get to it.”  


As expected, the return journey was slightly slower to accommodate Talanah’s pace and her occasional breaks where she grasped her side tightly and clenched her jaw, breathing heavily through her nose. Aloy frowned each time, her fingers playing with her clothing restlessly as she chewed the inside of her cheek.  


When they finally reached the gate of Mother’s Watch, the guard eyed Talanah warily before ordering the Braves inside to open it. Almost as soon as they had set foot into the settlement, Talanah let out a sharp gasp and fell against the wall beside the gate. Aloy quickly rushed to her and the Carja huntress gripped her shoulder tightly.  


“What happened? Are you okay?”  


“Just… really… hurts…”  


Aloy bit her lower lip for a moment before glancing over her shoulder toward the crowd that had started to gather at the sounds of the huntress in distress. Finally, she glanced back at Talanah, placing a hand on the arm that reached toward her.  


“One moment.”  


The Carja reluctantly released her and Aloy quickly made her way toward a group of Braves standing near the bottom of the scaffolding that constituted the watch tower along the main wall.  


“Is there a healer, here?”  


They stared back at her with blank expressions for a moment before the Brave in front blinked repeatedly and seemed to snap out of her daze first.  


“One.”  


“Where?”  


The Brave pointed across the open courtyard toward a group on the far side of a large fire.  


“Chana; tall, dark hair, red tattoos.”  


Aloy nodded and muttered a thanks to the Brave before hurrying to the indicated crowd. As she approached, she immediately noted the Nora woman rising to her feet; she fit the description the Brave had just given her almost exactly.  


“Chana?”  


The woman nodded.  


“Please, help.”  


She moved to step over the log seat by the fire when the man beside her grabbed her tunic, stopping her.  


“You’d help the Carja girl?” he spat.  


The woman glanced down at the man before twisting from his grasp.  


“She has not raised hand or blade against you or your family,” the Nora healer spat. “You would deny help to her when your own daughter fought at Meridian?”  


The other Nora in the group around the fire began to murmur amongst themselves as the man’s face went pale and he turned away from the healer, staring into the base of the burning logs. A moment later, Aloy returned to Talanah with Chana in tow.  


“What happened?” the tall woman asked.  


“She was hit by a Sawtooth,” Aloy explained.  


“Hit how?”  


“It… swatted her, I suppose.”  


Chana gave Aloy a curious look.  


“She doesn’t appear to be bleeding.”  


“It didn’t use its claws.”  


The Nora healer’s face contorted in confusion for a moment before a groan from Talanah brought her attention back to the huntress, once again. She quickly drew something from one of the pouches on her belt before stepping up to the huntress and holding her hand toward her.  


“Eat this, for the pain.”  


Talanah eyed the plant parts of some kind warily, but took them a moment later and popped them into her mouth.  


“Chew them, especially, as it will release the sap within that is the main source of their painkilling properties.”  


She began to chew, but her face gave away the unpleasant taste almost immediately, much to the amusement of Chana.  


“They are not the best food source by taste, however.”  


Talanah simply nodded in agreement, but managed to chew them for several long moments before swallowing. The healer then began to probe at Talanah’s side, seemingly testing how strong the huntress’s reaction was to her touch, before frowning and taking a step back.  


“There’s no doubt bruising,” she started, “but you do not strike me as in so much pain that your ribs are broken.”  


“Oh, good.”  


Chana smirked at her dry comment.  


“I have some salve that can help reduce swelling and pain to the touch, but unfortunately it will simply take time.”  


Talanah shrugged and immediately winced.  


“S’fine.”  


Chana nodded and walked quickly toward one of the huts on the edge of the courtyard. As she left, Talanah let out a groan, adjusting her position against the wall.  


“You know, I almost wondered for a second there if she was just trying to torture me,” she muttered.  


Aloy laughed softly.  


“Someone didn’t want her to help, and she defended you, so I doubt it.”  


Talanah paused for a moment before nodding slowly, staring vacantly in the direction the healer had gone a moment ago. She did say anything further, however, instead continuing to rub at her side gingerly until the healer returned with a small, wooden vessel in hand.  


“Here, apply this carefully and it should help with the pain for now,” she said, holding it toward Talanah initially before changing her mind and offering it to Aloy. “Apply generously and you’ll almost certainly go entirely numb.”  


“May not be so bad…” Talanah groaned.  


“I would not recommend doing that frequently, however,” she said. “It will be hard to gauge when you are truly healing if you have no reference. Also, it can sometimes cause a dependency.”  


Talanah made a face as she stared at the small, wooden container in Aloy’s hand but nodded.  


“If anything worsens, find me,” Chana added. “I’m usually around Mother’s Watch, and my cabin is right over there.”  


She pointed to the one she had just left a few moments ago.  


“Thank you,” Talanah said, finally managing to push herself upright and off the wall. “I think whatever that awful tasting stuff was is kicking in. Pain’s not so bad anymore.”  


“Good,” the healer nodded, grinning. “Maybe stay away from Sawtooths for the time being, as well.”  


“Oh, trust me, I will be,” Talanah muttered, gingerly beginning to take a few steps.  


While the Carja huntress still limped slightly, she seemed able to keep moving, so Erend and Aloy fell in step on either side of her as they made their way back up the mountain trail.  


“It’s nowhere near as fancy as Meridian, but that healer certainly seemed to work magic,” Erend commented.  


“The Nora do live out here and survive _somehow_ ,” Aloy teased, glancing around Talanah with a smirk.  


Erend shot her a look in return, but didn’t say anything else. When they finally reached the mountain entrance, they found two figures deep in conversation in the center of the open ground before it. Aloy raised her eyebrows slightly when she realized that one was Petra, but the other was Jezza. The High Matriarch seemed actually rather interested and invested in whatever the Oseram woman was telling her, and Petra’s motions were quite energetic as she spoke rapidly and loudly. As they approached, she glanced past the Matriarch and grinned.  


“Back so late? I figured you three would have been back long ago,” she called.  


“Ran into a… bit of a situation,” Aloy replied, glancing at Talanah beside her, who frowned and absentmindedly rubbed at her side.  


Petra’s amused expression fell slightly as she glanced at the Carja huntress.  


“Is everything okay?”  


“I’m fine, Petra,” Talanah sighed. “Just… got tricked by a Sawtooth… somehow.”  


Petra frowned as Jezza turned toward them, a similar expression on her face.  


“From what Petra here has been telling me, the machines can be much more intelligent than we even imagined,” she began. “Is this perhaps at fault?”  


Aloy shrugged.  


“Not sure, but… this one certainly behaved unlike how I’ve ever seen them do so before.”  


Petra’s dower expression quickly turned to one of curiosity, while Jezza’s frown only deepened.  


“This is perhaps concerning,” the High Matriarch said. “Do you think this is an effect of the Goddess’s condition?”  


They all fell silent for a moment before the other three looked to Aloy and she swallowed nervously.  


“Uh… it… uh… might be.”  


Petra raised one eyebrow behind Jezza’s back, while the High Matriarch’s look of concern only deepened.  


“Then how does your work to heal and restore her go?”  


Aloy shifted nervously, pressing her palms against the fur portions of her skirt to try to wipe away the cold, clammy feeling that had formed on them.  


“It’s… getting there.”  


Jezza nodded slowly, glancing between them all before turning back to Aloy.  


“It seems you have a good party to conduct such work,” she continued. “I will let you continue, as time seems to be of the essence, here.”  


A moment or two of silence followed before Aloy cleared her throat and glanced to Talanah and Erend beside her before turning back to Jezza.  


“Thanks.”  


They quickly made their way back to the entrance to the passageway as Jezza remained outside, turning to walk toward Mother’s Watch, instead. As they descended the softly-lit tunnel, Aloy let out a heavy sigh, rubbing her eyes tiredly.  


“It just never seems to end…”  


“What doesn’t?”  


She glanced over at Erend.  


“Everything. The… world in trouble… everything with the Nora… getting injured…”  


“Speaking of which,” he interjected, “you took a good hit from the Sawtooth, as well. How are you holding up?”  


Aloy shrugged, only just realizing the aches and pains that had settled across her stomach and torso in general after he had mentioned them.  


“Been worse.”  


Talanah let out a sound halfway between a laugh and a snort as the redhead shot her a look.  


“When you put it in that perspective…” the Carja said, smirking.  


Aloy simply sighed and stepped onto the platform before the large bunker door as the familiar synthetic voice told her to hold in place. Once the scan had completed and the door welcomed Elisabet Sobeck, once again, they all stepped inside. Almost immediately, Aloy’s Focus activated and the images of GAIA and Elisabet appeared before her.  


“How did it go?” Elisabet asked.  


Before Aloy could even answer, GAIA frowned and interjected.  


“Signs seem to indicate that Talanah and Aloy are injured. Query: are you two all right?”  


Elisabet’s eyes widened as she glanced back at GAIA before turning to the two huntresses.  


“What happened?”  


The urgency in her voice took Aloy by surprise, but she quickly tried to recover as she cleared her throat.  


“Sawtooth was more clever than we expected, but we made it back.”  


“How are you hurt?”  


“I’m fine, Talanah—”  


“Will also be fine,” she interjected, frowning. “Just some bruises.”  


“Just bruises don’t make you stand like that,” Elisabet shot back, eying the girl’s posture.  


Talanah’s frown turned to a look of defiance.  


“I’ll be fine. I’ve had worse.”  


“And so have I,” Aloy quickly intervened.  


Elisabet sighed, turning back to the redhead.  


“I know.”  


They stood in silence for a few long moments before Talanah cleared her throat, breaking it.  


“I kind of want to put some of that salve on,” she said, “but I kind of need some privacy, you know? So, if it’s okay with everyone else…”  


Elisabet nodded and stepped aside, gesturing to the doorway into the rest of the facility behind her.  


“Sure, yeah, go ahead.”  


“And I want to get started on building those… whatever you called them,” Petra said, gesturing to GAIA.  


“Portable Network Relay Nodes.”  


Petra blinked in response before clearing her throat.  


“Yeah, those.”  


Elisabet smirked as Talanah sighed and turned to Aloy.  


“Do you have that little container she gave you?”  


Aloy nodded, pulling it from one of the pouches on her belt that at one point had held bombs for her sling and handing it to her.  


“If you want some after I’m done, just let me know.”  


Aloy nodded and Talanah began to limp away, no longer holding her side constantly, but still taking careful steps on her left side. As she left, Petra turned to Erend, offering to take the bag with the machine parts from him. When she opened it and looked inside, she nodded, an impressed look on her face.  


“Got a lot to work with, here.”  


“We assumed you might want extra, just in case.”  


Petra laughed.  


“Assuming I’m going to break them in the process?”  


“Assuming _we_ were going to break something in the process.”  


She waved dismissively.  


“I can handle it.”  


Aloy rolled her eyes as Petra lifted the bag over her shoulder and began to make her way toward her makeshift workshop.  


“Give me a few hours and I’ll what I can do with the plans GAIA made.”  


They watched her leave before Elisabet let out a short laugh.  


“Gotta admire her spirit.”  


“Or something.”  


Elisabet nodded, turning back to Aloy and Erend.  


“You two sure you’re okay?”  


“I’ll be fine,” Aloy sighed, “and he didn’t even get hit once.”  


“I mean, hard to get hit when I keep getting told to stay in the back.”  


Aloy rolled her eyes as Erend smirked.  


“Then next time you take on the Sawtooth first.”  


“Maybe I will.”  


With an exasperated groan, Aloy rubbed at her eyes.  


“You’re impossible.”  


When she let her hands fall by her sides, once again, a yawn escaped her.  


“You should get some rest,” GAIA chimed in, smiling softly.  


“Tell me about it…” the redhead mumbled. “Feel free to wake me if Petra finishes one of those things or if she’s about to blow us all up.”  


The others laughed as she turned and quickly made her way out of the entryway and toward the apartments several floors down. When she passed Talanah’s door, she hesitated for a moment before deciding against it and continuing to her own. As soon as the door had shut behind her, she began to remove all of her equipment, placing it against the wall to her left.  


When it came to removing her tunic, however, she did so much more gingerly, pulling the outer portion of the armor off easily but wincing as she tried to tug the leather portion underneath over her head. Once she had, however, she glanced down and winced at the dark purple bruises that ran across the entire lower portion of her torso. She gingerly ran her fingers over one on her stomach and sucked in a breath through her teeth at the small shock of pain that came from even the slightest touch.  


“That’s gonna be annoying…”  


With a sigh, she grabbed her Banuk fur jacket from her things and pulled it on, deciding that it required the least amount of effort and contact with the now painfully aware bruises. Even once she had fastened it in the front, however, she could still feel the slight sting and burn everywhere the fabric touched them. Finally, with a sigh, she spun on her heel and made her way back to Talanah’s door.  


She knocked loudly on it and stood back, first attempting to fold her arms over her chest but quickly dropping them to her sides, again, as the pain of the bruises only intensified. A moment later, however, the door slid open to reveal Talanah wrapped in what appeared to be a blanket.  


“Decide you need some of that salve, after all?”  


Aloy nodded sheepishly and Talanah laughed.  


“Come in, then.”  


Aloy hesitated for a moment, but Talanah had already turned and begun to walk back into her room, so she quickly followed. Once they were inside the door had slid closed, once again, Aloy glanced toward the pile of equipment in the main room, not unlike hers, and noted a pile of Carja silk clothing next to the bow and spear and she swallowed nervously.  


A tapping on something metal brought her attention to the doorway to the bedroom where Talanah was leaning against the doorway, waving the wooden container in her direction.  


“It’s a lifesaver,” she said, grinning. “My whole left side is completely numb.”  


“Didn’t the healer warn you about that?” Aloy shot back, smirking as she stepped forward to grab the container from her.  


“Yeah, but… responsibility can come later,” she shrugged.  


Just as Aloy went to grab the wooden vessel, Talanah suddenly jerked it out of her reach, causing her to jump in surprise.  


“Uh…”  


“So I wanted to ask you something, first,” Talanah said.  


“Oh?”  


“And now I’ve got a reason to keep you here for a second.”  


Aloy raised her eyebrows slightly as she nervously shuffled her position, attempting to fold her arms over her chest before remembering and stopping just before touching the bruises, again.  


“When we were out there with the Scrappers,” she began, “you mentioned something about me not getting hurt again… so does that mean—?”  


“I already told you,” Aloy sighed, interrupting, “I remember pretty much everything from then, it’s just—”  


“It feels like a dream, like you weren’t in control, I know,” Talanah interjected, as well. “I guess… the _way_ you said it…”  


Aloy chewed the inside of her cheek for a moment as the Carja huntress looked to her expectantly, her half-question still hanging in the air.  


“Talanah, I… I still need…”  


The other girl’s face fell as she sighed heavily. Her shoulders sagged as she held the container of salve out to Aloy, once again.  


“Still need to figure things out, I get it.”  


“Talanah, I—”  


“I get it, Aloy.”  


The redhead ground her teeth as her jaw worked tensely.  


“No, you don’t.”  


Talanah’s eyebrow raised slightly as Aloy let out a frustrated sigh.  


“I’ve got all of these memories and feelings tied to them inside my head, and I can’t tell which are mine and which are… _not_ … at this point. It’s not something I think I could just figure out in a single day. I don’t… I’m not trying to push you away. You’re not some stranger to me… but I think… I don’t want you to feel like I am to you, right now.”  


Talanah’s eyes widened slightly as she seemed to freeze in place, the casual swaying of the wooden jar in her hand stopping almost instantly.  


“I do care about you—all of you—but I just… there’s a lot for me to go through, and I haven’t exactly had that time, yet.”  


A heavy silence fell over them for several long moments before Aloy cleared her throat, unable to stand it anymore.  


“Does that… make sense?”  


Talanah nodded and Aloy sighed, noting how her body language had not changed in the slightest.  


“I’m sorry I don’t have a better answer right now.”  


Talanah shrugged, but it was incredibly stiff and stilted. Aloy frowned, but Talanah simply shook the wooden jar.  


“You still want this, or…?”  


Aloy paused before taking it from her, turning it over in her hand several times.  


“Thanks, I’ll… I’ll let you get some rest.”  


Talanah simply nodded and said nothing as Aloy’s lips pulled into a thin line and she began to turn back to the door. Just as she reached it, Talanah’s voice prompted her to glance back.  


“Once you figure everything out, make sure you tell me, okay?”  


Aloy nodded as Talanah did the same, still leaning against the doorway to the bedroom. The redhead opened her mouth, as if to say something else, but paused for a moment and closed it instead, turning back to the door and quickly twisting the holographic lock.  


She kept her gaze focused on the floor as she quickly made her way back to her room, barely even recognizing that she had stepped inside until she suddenly found herself falling onto her bedroll face-down. The pain from the pressure on her bruises immediately flared, but she remained still, face buried in the rolled pillow portion for several long moments before finally relenting and rolling onto her back.  


Once she had, however, she continued to stare at the ceiling for several long moments before tiredly rubbing her eyes with a groan.  


“Fuck.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there was still a good amount of talking in the end, but they've all got some things that needed to be said. Y'know?
> 
> I've got through the end already planned out (not entirely written, though) and I'm getting really excited to get into the thick of it.
> 
> It's all downhill from here, folks.
> 
> See y'all next week.


	21. Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something of You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Monday y'all.
> 
> Long chapter, I know, but the weird ending rhyme will hopefully make sense by the end.
> 
> So yeah, I'm super excited for this chapter, cuz we're really getting into the endgame now, folks. I know I always say one thing and then it gets super drawn out after that, but this time I have a plan... and I've written a good ways ahead of this chapter already.
> 
> Get ready for a wild ride.
> 
> And on that note... enjoy.

Rest had not come easily to the battered redhead, but she had eventually drifted off into a dreamless sleep, only to be awakened by a synthetic ringing in her ear what felt like seconds later. She groaned, reaching for her Focus without opening her eyes, but a voice quickly replaced the ringing.  


“Don’t just take that off and go back to sleep.”  


She paused mid-motion, before sighing and letting her hand fall back on the bed.  


“Petra’s done.”  


“Already?”  


“It’s been eight hours, Aloy.”  


The redhead’s eyes cracked open and she blinked blearily for several seconds before rubbing them vigorously with both hands. When she pulled her hands away, she noted something bright out of the corner of her eye and glanced toward the doorway to find the image of Elisabet standing in it, her arms folded over her chest and leaning against the frame.  


“Guess you were more tired than you thought.”  


Aloy muttered something incomprehensible as she dragged herself to a sitting position on the side of the bed, rolling her shoulders and stretching her back tiredly, frowning at the ever-present stiff line across her shoulder blades.  


“That does look pretty painful, you know.”  


Aloy shot the image of Elisabet a confused look before glancing down at herself and realizing that the front of her jacket still hung open, clearly revealing the bruises that looked like they had only grown darker since she had fallen asleep, the skin around them turning a sickly yellow-green, as well.  


“It’s nothing,” she mumbled, adjusting the jacket self-consciously as she looked back up at Elisabet.  


“Did the salve work?”  


She nodded.  


“Well, that’s good for now, then.”  


Aloy tried to nod again, but a yawn suddenly forced its way out of her, followed by a groan.  


“You’re too young to be acting like my grandmother.”  


She shot Elisabet a dirty look as the image smirked.  


“You know…”  


“Okay, okay,” Elisabet sighed, standing straight and stepping away from the doorframe, “but seriously, Petra’s done.”  


“I figured,” Aloy said, stretching her back carefully to avoid aggravating the bruises on the front of her torso. “Eight hours still seems fast.”  


“She had help.”  


“Who?”  


“The servitor bots.”  


Aloy’s eyebrows raised as she braced herself on the edge of the bed with both hands.  


“Really?”  


“GAIA was able to program them with the ability to help out some more. They’re still not entirely at their peak ability to operate like people, but they’re a little less… off.”  


Aloy nodded slowly before pushing herself to her feet. Once standing, she adjusted the jacket, fastening it closed before her and heading into the main room of the apartment. She pulled on the skirt portion of her Brave armor and tied it in place with her belt before turning back to the image of Elisabet.  


“I’m assuming you’re getting everyone together, again?”  


Elisabet paused for a moment, giving her a curious look.  


“I thought you might grab Talanah while you’re down here.”  


Aloy frowned as she avoided Elisabet’s gaze.  


“I think it would be better if you told her, right now.”  


When she finally met Elisabet’s eyes, once again, she found an expression somewhere between understanding and sadness before the holographic redhead nodded.  


“I can do that.”  


“Meeting in Petra’s workshop?”  


She nodded.  


“Guess I’ll see you there.”  


With that, she exited her apartment and began to make her way toward the stairs up to the higher levels of the facility, sparing only a passing glance at Talanah’s door. When she entered the workshop, however, she didn’t find any of the others at first, and she paused, glancing around. In the center of the room were two devices that looked very similar to the image GAIA had shown them yesterday, although she hadn’t realized how tall they would be. The tip of each was a good yard or so above her head, and the base was a foot or two across.  


“Petra?” she called, her voice echoing about the large room.  


A moment later, the sound of something shifting caused her to whirl around, but she still didn’t see anything. She frowned, approaching the devices in the middle of the room slowly as she continued to glance about the space.  


“Petra?” she called again, louder.  


This time, the sound of something falling to the floor rang out, followed by a muttered curse. She followed the sounds to her right before finally noticing that something was moving at one of the workbenches. With a smirk, she watched as Petra dragged herself to her feet from where she had evidently fallen out of a chair she must have been resting in previously.  


“I heard you, I heard you…”  


Aloy approached the bench and leaned against the far side, watching Petra groggily get her bearings before focusing on the redhead and rubbing her eyes tiredly.  


“Guess they didn’t want to waste any time, huh?”  


“Who didn’t?”  


“Elisabet and GAIA.”  


“What do you mean?”  


Petra sighed, taking a seat in the chair, once again.  


“Finished it a few hours ago, figured I’d get the chance for some full rest, but apparently not.”  


Aloy frowned slightly.  


“Sorry.”  


Petra waved dismissively.  


“It’s fine. Better to keep things moving anyway, right?”  


Aloy offered a half-shrug, half-nod as Petra rubbed her eyes, once again, before gesturing to the devices behind her.  


“Well, here they are,” she said. “All done exactly as GAIA showed. My machine friends were far more helpful than I expected.”  


“So I heard.”  


Petra gave her a curious look but shook her head, apparently giving up on it as she got to her feet with a groan.  


“So did you try them out?”  


“Not yet,” Petra replied, stepping around the workbench and leading Aloy over to them. “They run on power from the sun, so they need to actually go outside before we can see if they really work.”  


Aloy nodded slowly, looking over the devices as she tried to pick out which parts came from where. A few moments later, however, the sound of footsteps approaching drew her attention to the doorway and she found herself growing tense as she waited to see who they belonged to. Finally, Erend rounded the corner and she instantly felt herself relax, sending a strange shiver down her spine.  


“So, I heard we’ve got some heavy lifting to do,” Erend quipped, smirking as she approached the two women.  


“Oh, is that why they called you in, then?” Aloy jabbed.  


“Hey, I know I have some very specific uses, here,” he said, coming to a stop before them, “and I accept that.”  


Aloy rolled her eyes, but grinned, as Petra let out a sigh.  


“Good, means I don’t have to help lift, then.”  


Erend gave her a look just before their Focuses activated and the images of GAIA and Elisabet appeared before them.  


“Good, everyone’s here,” Elisabet said.  


“Not everyone,” Aloy replied, confusion creasing her features.  


“Talanah’s still feeling a little banged up, so I wanted to let her rest,” she said, giving Aloy a knowing look.  


The younger redhead nodded, turning her attention to the nearest device and scanning over the construction at its base, once again.  


“So, as I was saying,” Elisabet sighed, “everyone’s here, so we can start trying to set these things up.”  


“Where are we putting them, exactly?” Erend asked.  


“One will be just outside the entrance to the tunnel, here,” GAIA explained, “and the other will be close to the ruins we intend to use.”  


“The one outside the mountain is going to be easy enough,” Aloy chimed in, “but getting one of these things through Mother’s Watch might be… interesting.”  


Elisabet frowned slightly, but nodded.  


“I had that thought, too… but we have to try.”  


Aloy frowned similarly before glancing at the other two next to her.  


“So… let’s get to it, huh?”  


Although three people made the actual weight lifted by each person easier to manage, the height of the small tower made it incredibly awkward and unwieldy when attempting to navigate through smaller doorways, such as the one to the entryway of the facility. Once they had, however, Aloy used one hand to open the main door of the facility, and they were forced to wait as it slowly slid open.  


“Could it move any slower?” Petra grunted, shifting her hold on the device slightly.  


Aloy glanced back at her with a smirk just as the large door finally finished opening and they made their way out of the facility. Their journey up the passageway to the mountain opening was thankfully uneventful and uninterrupted, and they soon found themselves standing in the small clearing just outside the entrance, listening to the crackly voice of GAIA as she tried to explain where to place it, exactly.  


Eventually, they figured that she seemed to be indicating a spot near the far edge of the clearing, on top of a small patch of ground that was higher than the rest around it. As they placed it on the ground with a collective grunt, they stepped back and Aloy let out a heavy sigh, wiping her hands on her skirt.  


“So… now what?”  


“Well, like I said, it’s powered by the sun,” Petra replied, glancing up at the bright sunrise that was just beginning to crest over the mountain and fill the clearing. “Probably won’t be able to fully turn it on just yet. We can get the other one in place, though.”  


Aloy and Erend nodded before they all headed back into the facility, waiting for the large, slow-moving door, once again, before hurrying through it and to the workshop. As they arrived, their Focuses activated and the images of Elisabet and GAIA appeared before them.  


“The first relay node is coming online now,” GAIA informed them. “It will take a short time to reach full power, however.”  


“Really, that fast?” Petra asked, raising her eyebrows slightly.  


The image of GAIA nodded.  


“They do not require much power to operate, and the solar system you installed was meant for something much larger that required much more to operate.”  


“Makes sense,” Aloy chimed in and the image of Elisabet gave her a small smile. “So, we’ll take the second one and put it in place now and that won’t break anything, right?”  


“No, it won’t,” GAIA replied. “That would be a good course of action at this time. It will need to be placed as close to the opening into it as possible, and as is safe.”  


Aloy just gave a nod before following Petra over to the second device. Just as before, the weight was not unbearable, but the height was frustrating. This time around, however, Aloy had the idea to flip the small tower on its side and carry it lengthwise, with Erend and Petra holding the base while she held the back end up from hitting the ground.  


Their trip out of the mountain was, yet again, uneventful, but as they reached the top of the path into Mother’s Watch, they paused, all three of them exchanging glances. They all wore the same tight-lipped expression, but eventually turned and pressed onward down the path. As they reached the small, wooden gate into the settlement, the first few Nora standing just inside it glanced toward them before pulling double takes.  


Similar reactions continued to ripple outward as they pressed farther on, trying to block out the murmurings and stares. They had made it roughly halfway across the open ground when Aloy caught sight of a group of Nora before them who did not bear the surprised or confused expressions as the rest, but instead seemed much sterner. Her eyes scanned over the group quickly, her entire body tensing, until her gaze finally recognized the Brave in the center of the group, stepping toward them.  


Aloy swallowed nervously as the three of them came to a stop before Sona, who appeared to be eying the device in their hands warily.  


“Aloy, there has been much about you and your ways I do not understand, however I have not questioned,” the War Chief began, “but this I must.”  


The redhead sighed, adjusting her hold on the tower section of the device until she could step closer to the rest of the group.  


“This is not a weapon,” she began, “and it is not something meant to bring further death or destruction on the Nora.”  


“While I trust that you would not intentionally do something like that,” Sona cut in, “I still must ask what it is.”  


Aloy bit her lower lip for a moment, her mind running as fast as possible as she tried to think of a way to describe it. Finally, she took a deep breath, hoping that the shaking in her fingers wasn’t too obvious in her grip on the metal tower.  


“It’s a device intended to ward off machines, in the end. It acts like an invisible shield.”  


Sona’s eyebrows raised in doubt as Aloy scrambled to explain further.  


“It emits a signal that they don’t like, and so they avoid it. It’s… something I found in the mountain… the design, at least… from the first Nora, passed down by All Mother, herself.”  


Sona seemed to pause for a moment, whatever she had been about to say held in her chest, until she cleared her throat and adjusted her stance, somewhat.  


“I trust you, Aloy,” she said softly, “so I will allow this… but please do not give me a shred of doubt, as I do not know exactly how far I can exert my word before others will not honor it.”  


A chill ran down the redhead’s spine, but she quickly nodded. Sona gave the device one last glance before turning back to the Braves at the gate.  


“Let them pass.”  


The Braves in charge of opening the gate glanced at each other dubiously for a moment before finally setting about their work. The heavy, wooden gate slowly swung open just enough for the three of them to step through with their device, and they quickly made for the opening. As they passed the group of Braves, Aloy caught one last look from Sona, each of them giving each other a tight-lipped look, before her party quickly slipped outside and into the Embrace.  


Aloy and Petra quickly switched places carrying the device so she could better lead them to the site of the second ruin, and they set on their way in total silence. The entire walk, Sona’s words were echoing inside her head, the implications weighing on her shoulders as heavily as Oseram armor.  


“ _Only so much you can get away with…_ ”  


With a deep breath, she pushed them aside and focused on the trail ahead, quickly realizing that they had already just about arrived.  


“Over here.”  


She led them off the warn path and into the nearby trees, heading for a large boulder embedded into the middle of the otherwise open underbrush. When they reached the edge of it, she quickly brought them to a stop, glancing down into the dark hole that led into the ancient facility beneath.  


“This it?” Erend grunted, shifting his hold on the base and trying to glance into the hole, as well.  


Aloy nodded, turning back to the other two.  


“She said on the edge, as close as we can. Let’s set it up a yard or two away so it doesn’t accidentally fall in or anything.”  


They all nodded and followed her to a position a little ways away from the opening, before placing the tower on the ground. Once in place, Aloy glanced up at the canopy overhead, only to find that a good deal of the leaves on the trees had already fallen, and the branches did little to block the sunlight streaming down from above.  


“Should be charged in no time,” Petra commented, clearly noticing where she was looking, “if not already. We have been carrying it outside for a little while.”  


Aloy nodded, taking a deep breath in through her nose before looking down at the other two.  


“Well, guess that’s that, huh?”  


They all nodded and began to head back to the mountain, but not before Petra took a glance into the hole in the ground, as well.  


“So what was this place, then?”  


“I’m not sure,” Aloy shrugged. “Some kind of workshop or defense installation, I’m not sure.”  


Petra glanced up at her with an odd look for a moment before sparing one last look into the darkened ruins. Finally, she tore her eyes away from it and they set off on their way back to the mountain. Their return to Mother’s Watch was met with more staring and murmuring, but no one tried to block their way, this time, thankfully. As they reached the entrance to the mountain passageway, Petra sighed, glancing back at the clearing behind them.  


“What’s the matter?” Aloy asked, pausing and quickly hurrying the few steps back to her.  


“Just… a little sad that was such a short outing,” she shrugged. “Miss the sunlight a bit, you know?”  


Aloy nodded, glancing around the clearing, herself.  


“Well, if we’re going to be using that other ruin, too, then we might have some excuses to get out more.”  


The Oseram nodded, chewing the inside of her cheek slightly.  


“True…”  


With that, they finally turned into the mountain passageway and made their way to the facility’s front door.  


“You know what I miss, though?” Erend suddenly said as he and Petra joined Aloy on the platform once the scan had finished. “Some good ole fashioned Scrappersap.”  


Aloy rolled her eyes as Petra punched him in the shoulder playfully.  


“Of course you would.”  


“Hey, I would even take some more of whatever that stuff she brought before was,” he laughed.  


Aloy gave him an admonishing look as she led the way through the opening in the large door.  


“After what happened when we brought that in here? Really?”  


He shrugged, before suddenly glancing past her and stopping dead in his tracks, eyes widening. Aloy whirled around, confusion creasing her features before she also came to a sudden halt, her heart rate skyrocketing.  


“Welcome back, guys.”  


Her eyes continued to scan over the figure that now stood before them in the entryway, trying to find any trace of the telltale glow or the slight hint of transparency that told her they were a holographic projection, but she couldn’t find any. The young redhead dressed in a set of bright blue, red, and yellow Carja silks looked as real as Erend had a moment ago when she had glanced back at him. Looking at her face, however, it was all too much like staring into her own reflection, down to the freckles dotted across her cheekbones and the green-brown hazel eyes that conveyed a spark of what almost seemed like amusement.  


“So… I think I owe you all an explanation.”  


Utter silence followed the look-alike’s statement, while Aloy’s hand slowly began to reach behind her, only to realize that she hadn’t taken any of her weapons with her to bring the tower to the ruins.  


“First of all… you’re not crazy, and not hallucinating,” the redhead continued, the voice even sending shivers down Aloy’s spine.  


“What are you?” she suddenly spat, unable to mask the slight tremor in her voice.  


The look-alike’s face contorted in something that looked like hurt for a moment before she recomposed herself.  


“I guess to start simply: it’s me, Elisabet.”  


All sound seemed to have been removed from the room as Aloy continued to stare back at the seemingly living reflection across from her. She slowly began to shake her head and the figure took a cautious step forward, raising her hands defensively.  


“Hold on, I can explain.”  


Aloy reflexively took a step back and immediately found herself bumping into something that caused her to jump and whirl around, again. Petra looked surprised, as well, taking a step back before glancing between Aloy and the new redheaded figure for several seconds before shaking her head and pressing her hands to her temples.  


“By the forge I’ve seen a lot so far…”  


Aloy quickly whirled around, once again, but found that the look-alike had remained where she was.  


“This, what you’re seeing right now,” she began, placing her hands on her chest, over her heart, “is actually one of the servitor bots.”  


Aloy continued to stare back at the figure in total silence, so she seemed to take it as her cue to continue.  


“You might remember from seeing the recordings in this facility that they can look and sound like real people, depending on what you put into them. Well… I decided to see if I could put a bit of myself into one of them, and… well… it clearly seems to work by how terrified you all look right now.”  


“Why do you look exactly like me, then?” Aloy demanded, her hands curling into fists at her side. “If you’re Elisabet, that’s not how you looked even through our Focuses this morning.”  


The image sighed, nodding.  


“So, it’s sort of a multi-part answer,” she began. “To start, I guess, if I’m going to help you set up that other ruin to help get MINERVA back online, I thought it may be easier if I were physically there to lend a hand; there’s more to this than what I could do just through the network.  


“As to why I… uh… ‘de-aged’ myself even further… well, the Nora know you, Aloy, and it seemed like it would be easier to pass among them if they might just think I’m you.”  


Aloy slowly began to shake her head, as well, stepping backward until she bumped into Petra, who put her hands on her shoulders to keep her from tripping over her.  


“This… this is way too…”  


The look-alike’s lips contorted into a half-frown as she let her hands fall to her sides, once again.  


“I knew it was going to be a bit jarring, but…”  


“Why couldn’t you just… look like yourself, and we’d say that… I don’t know, you were my long-lost mother sent from the Goddess or… something?” Aloy suddenly said, her voice regaining its strength as she stood up straight, stepping away from Petra’s hold on her.  


The figure calling herself Elisabet frowned even deeper.  


“I don’t think we’d have time for that kind of explanation,” she said, “and after everything we’ve already put them through recently, I don’t know if that would be such a good idea.”  


“But this is?” Aloy shot back. “Two of me?”  


The other figure sighed.  


“Ideally, we won’t be seen together,” she said, “and if we must… we’ll come up with a good disguise.”  


“Can that—thing—change appearances quickly?” Aloy gestured to seemingly all of the other figure.  


“Unfortunately, no,” she replied, shaking her head. “This took all morning to set up and get operational. They can be reprogrammed, yes, but it takes time.”  


Aloy ran her hands over her face forcefully, rubbing at her eyes in particular.  


“This is insane… I’m starting to think I’m going insane.”  


“You’re not.”  


A hand suddenly touched her right arm and she jumped in surprise, letting out a yelp as she twisted away from the cold touch. When she glanced down at where her arm had been a moment ago, she saw the look-alike’s hand still held out in the air. As her gaze moved up from the hand to her face, she found a look somewhere between hurt and understanding on it.  


“Sorry.”  


Aloy took a deep breath to say something else, but instead let it out in a heavy huff and turned away from the figure, folding her arms over her chest as she began to pace away.  


“So hold on a second,” Petra suddenly cut in, bringing everyone’s attention to her. “If you’re in that bot, does that mean there’s room here, now?”  


Aloy caught the other figure shaking her head out of the corner of her eye.  


“I didn’t transfer everything into this bot,” she began. “Think of it like… I’m controlling it, telling it what to do—using it like a tool—but I’m still only doing so through the connection with the system in this facility… and now, by extension, those relay nodes you placed outside.”  


“So… you can leave here, then?”  


“That was the entire point of doing this, so yes.”  


Silence fell over the group for several moments before Aloy realized that everyone was looking to her.  


“What?”  


“You… haven’t said anything in a while,” Petra said softly. “You going to be okay?”  


Aloy laughed dryly, finally turning back to her apparent robotic look-alike.  


“I mean, I just walked inside to find what seems to be myself waiting for me, and now I’m just supposed to accept that it’s the AI-version of Elisabet who decided to take control of one of those blank, featureless robots to make it look like me so she can fool other people into thinking she _is_ me… again?”  


The other redhead physically recoiled at the end of her outburst, her mouth falling open slightly as a look of shock and hurt came over her.  


“Aloy…”  


“I’m sorry, it’s kind of a lot for me to process right now,” she spat, cutting the other redhead off. “I… I need a bit to myself.”  


With that, she spun on her heel and quickly stalked off farther into the facility, following a path on autopilot as she made her way along the upper level of the APOLLO workstations to the stairwell down to the apartments. Once she had reached her room and stepped inside, she turned back to the quickly closing door behind her. She tapped her Focus to bring the interface to life around her, scanning the locking mechanism to bring up a new box superimposed over it. After a few moments of searching through options, she finally found the one to lock it, and quickly activated it, the blue-green projection turning an angry red. With a sigh, she reached up and ripped the Focus from beside her ear. She stared down at it for a moment or two before crouching down and burying it in her belongings, wrapping it in a sleeve of her Banuk jacket.  


Finally, she began to pace about the room, running her hands over her hair repeatedly until she finally let out a frustrated growl and began to undo all of the braids, pulling the ties and beads free until her hair hung in a wild, somewhat frizzy mane behind her. She continued to fuss with it, trying to smooth out the worst parts, until even after pulling it all into a single braid over one shoulder, it seemed no use and she let her hands fall from it, shaking her head until it at least was mostly out of her face.  


She paused her pacing in the center of the room as she did, staring blankly at the far wall before letting out a growl of frustration and whirling to kick at a piece of something metal that lay in the middle of the floor. It skittered away into the corner, bouncing off the far wall with a loud clinking sound that echoed about the mostly empty space for a moment or two.  


Aloy continued to stare at the far wall where it had landed a moment ago for several long seconds before another metallic tapping sounded again. Confusion creased her face for a moment before it came again and she suddenly whirled around toward the door. Silence followed, once again, before the tapping repeated. She slowly moved toward it before coming to a stop just on the opposite side and taking a deep breath.  


“Who is it?”  


“It’s me, Aloy,” came Erend’s voice from the other side.  


She sighed, rubbing her eyes tiredly with one hand.  


“Come in.”  


A moment of silence followed before the sound of him clearing his throat came from the opposite side.  


“Uh… I can’t.”  


Confusion creased her face for a moment before she remembered the lock and twisted her hand over the door where she vaguely remembered the pojection being earlier. It seemed to work from her side as the door slid open, revealing the Oseram standing awkwardly in the hallway. He started slightly at either the opening door or her appearance, but quickly recovered and stepped inside as she moved out of the way.  


As the door slid closed, once again, he turned to face Aloy, who was leaning against the wall beside the door. When she attempted to fold her arms over her chest, however, she suddenly winced and stood up straight, letting her arms fall to her sides, the pain from the bruises from the Sawtooth finally beginning to return as the salve wore off.  


“You okay?”  


“Just bruises from the hunt yesterday,” she shrugged.  


“Okay, I… uh… I didn’t mean that, but good to know.”  


She paused, sighing as she rubbed her eyes tiredly.  


“Take off your Focus.”  


Confusion creased his face, but he did as she asked, removing it from beside his right ear. She took it from him and buried it in a different part of her clothing, hopefully to help remember whose was whose when they tried to recover them later.  


“What’s going on?” Erend asked slowly and quietly.  


“I don’t like the whole bot version of ‘me,’” Aloy snapped, whirling around as she rose to her feet, once again. “It… I have a bad feeling about it.”  


Erend frowned slightly as she folded his arms over his chest.  


“I mean, it’s certainly strange,” he replied. “Why exactly do you feel like it’s bad?”  


“There’s a second me walking around, basically!” she spat, gesturing vaguely toward the door. “It’s freaking me out!”  


Erend raised his hands defensively, taking a step toward her.  


“Hey, easy, I understand,” he said. “I just wanted to know what’s going on inside your head. Not much rattles you and this… well, it’s really gotten you worked up.”  


Aloy let out a frustrated growl as her hands clenched tightly and relaxed repeatedly at her sides.  


“After… after everything you’ve already heard about before we got here, and when Elisabet suddenly appeared as an AI…”  


Erend nodded slowly as the redhead finally took a deep breath in through her nose and let it out in a heavy sigh.  


“Can I ask you something?”  


Erend’s eyebrows raised slightly but he nodded.  


“Does… has everything she’s done so far felt… ‘good’?”  


Confusion creased his face as Aloy frowned slightly.  


“I don’t know how to word it, exactly, but… have her actions felt like something a ‘good’ person would do?”  


His confusion seemed to break as his lips pulled into a thin line.  


“There’s… there’s certainly been some questionable parts,” he said, “but remember Aloy, ‘good’ people sometimes have to make choices that seemingly aren’t.”  


“I know, I know…” she huffed, beginning to pace before Erend, but he suddenly placed his hands on her shoulders, stopping her as she passed him.  


“Hey, are you worried there’s something more to her intentions?” he asked quietly.  


Aloy bit her lower lip for a moment before sighing and shrugging.  


“Aloy…”  


“Maybe,” she finally said, shaking her head slowly. “I thought I knew her, but… maybe I don’t, really.”  


Erend stared down at her in silence for several moments, his gaze locked firmly on her eyes, before he nodded slowly.  


“From the sounds of it, you’d have the best chances of knowing her out of all of us,” he continued, his tone softer than before. “If you’re worried… I’m worried.”  


Aloy laughed, shaking her head.  


“You don’t have to listen to my—”  


“No, but I’m choosing to.”  


She paused, her mouth still hanging open for a moment or two before she closed it, swallowing thickly.  


“So… whatever happens… I’m on your side,” he continued, offering a small smile.  


Aloy returned it with one of her own for a moment or two before suddenly stepping forward, slipping from under his hands to wrap her arms around him. Erend jumped slightly in surprise, but slowly returned the embrace a moment later. The pain from the bruises began to flare, but she ignored it, closing her eyes as she let out a heavy sigh.  


“Thanks, Erend.”  


“Uh… don’t mention it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that's a thing now.
> 
> See y'all next week.


	22. Satellite Facility

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Monday, y'all.
> 
> So we're getting real close now. It's a weird feeling.
> 
> I'm a little sad that this story arc is ending, but also excited as ever to show you all how it happens.
> 
> This isn't the penultimate chapter, by any means, but next week, we're shifting into high gear and staying there.
> 
> Consider this your calm before the storm.
> 
> Enjoy!

The night without the salve proved to be more difficult than expected, as Aloy had been forced to sleep on her back without much movement, lest the pain from the front of her torso flare in full strength, once again. The salve had been nowhere to be found in her apartment, so she had to assume Talanah had retrieved it at some point, and she wasn’t particularly feeling like repeating the same scenario as the last time she had visited.  


Finally, when she figured she had rested as much as she was going to that night, she crawled out of her bedroll, running through her morning stretches, albeit much more carefully as each twist and turn of her torso only brought more pain from the front half. When the stiffness in her back and the pain on her front had settled to an overall dull ache, she sighed, making her way to her belongings and getting dressed.  


As she pulled her Focus free from her clothing, she stared down at it in the palm of her hand for a moment before sighing and sliding it beside her ear. Immediately, a synthetic chime sounded in her ear.  


“Aloy, you are awake.”  


At the sound of GAIA’s voice, a small smile tugged at her lips.  


“Sorry, GAIA,” she said, “wanted some privacy last night.”  


“I understand, Aloy,” the AI replied. “Query: are you feeling better this morning?”  


She shrugged, but quickly caught herself and cleared her throat.  


“Somewhat.”  


“Query: are you still in pain from your injuries?”  


“A little.”  


A moment later, the interface of her Focus sprung to life and she glanced to her left to find the image of GAIA standing in the center of her room, a concerned expression on her face.  


“Query: your injuries do not appear to be serious, however they are still causing you quite a bit of discomfort?” she asked.  


Aloy sighed, rising to her feet with a quiet groan.  


“I’ve had worse, GAIA.”  


The concerned expression on the AI’s face did not lessen in severity as Aloy turned to face her.  


“I understand, however… I am still concerned.”  


“I’ll survive, don’t worry.”  


“I was not concerned with your survival, but simply your general well-being,” GAIA replied, shaking her head, “physical and mental.”  


Confusion creased Aloy’s face as the AI took a few steps forward, her hands working nervously before her.  


“You were incredibly distraught when you returned yesterday,” she said softly. “Elisabet has been saddened by this, as well.”  


Aloy sighed, looking away from the image of the AI toward the far wall, her jaw working tensely.  


“Well, she should know why.”  


“She does understand, Aloy,” GAIA continued, “but that does not mean she is not worried, herself.”  


“Then why’d she even do it?” the redhead snapped, turning back to the image of GAIA to find her recoiling at her outburst.  


“Aloy, she explained—”  


“I heard what she said yesterday,” Aloy interrupted, letting out a frustrated sigh. “To help oversee whatever’s going on at the new ruin and all that, but…”  


Her mouth hung open as she gestured vaguely toward the door before letting out a growl of frustration and throwing her hands into the air, spinning on her heel and beginning to pace restlessly.  


“There has to be a less… concerning way to do it.”  


“Her intentions were to help…”  


“Just like when she wanted to help rebuild this place and used my body to do it?”  


Aloy froze in place as she stared at the wall ahead of her, suddenly afraid to look back at the AI. When she finally summoned the courage to do so, she found a deeply saddened expression on her face.  


“I understand, Aloy,” she began softly, “and I wish I knew a way to comfort you.”  


The redhead sighed, approaching the AI and pausing for a moment before tentatively reaching one hand toward her. As her palm came to rest against what would be the image’s upper arm, the expression on her face began to lighten.  


“I don’t want to cause you more problems,” Aloy said softly.  


“You are not a problem, Aloy.”  


The redhead opened her mouth to speak, once again, but found that a hard lump had formed in her throat, preventing any words from escaping. Finally, she swallowed thickly and settled on nodding.  


“What you have done so far,” the AI continued, “for the world, and for those close to you, has been astounding. You have accomplished everything I’d hoped you would and more.”  


Aloy’s eyes began to burn and she quickly reached up to wipe at them with the back of her hand, clearing her throat.  


“But there’s still even more to do.”  


“Yes,” GAIA replied, nodding, reaching one hand toward the redhead’s face and laying it alongside her cheek, “and I have every confidence you will succeed, yet again.”  


Aloy couldn’t stop the second round, this time, as hot tears leaked from the corners of her eyes and she swallowed the lump in her throat.  


“I’m sorry,” she said quickly, trying to wipe at her eyes with the back of her hand, yet again.  


“There’s no need to apologize, Aloy,” GAIA replied, shaking her head.  


A long pause followed before GAIA tilted her head slightly, a small smile still fixed on her lips.  


“You remind me so much of her.”  


Aloy froze and GAIA paused, too, clearly sensing she had hit on something.  


“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—”  


“It’s okay,” Aloy interjected. “I mean… makes sense, right?”  


GAIA paused, her expression tempered somewhat before she nodded.  


“Correct.”  


Another long pause followed before Aloy sighed.  


“I should… we need to start working on whatever Elisabet wants to do with that ruin, I suppose.”  


GAIA nodded and Aloy began to turn away.  


“Aloy, wait.”  


She paused, turning back to the image of the AI, who had let her hand fall to her side, once again.  


“As much as you may remind me of Elisabet… you are your own person,” she said softly, “and I am immeasurably proud of you, not in comparison nor despite any circumstances.”  


Aloy bit her lower lip slightly for a moment before nodding, clearing her throat, once again.  


“Thank you, GAIA.”  


The AI beamed at her as the redhead gathered her equipment, tying her belt in place, and made toward the door to the hallway, quickly slipping out into it as her Focus interface closed around her. When she reached the main level of the facility, she saw motion through the large window into the control room and made her way along the row of dark APOLLO workstations toward it. Just before opening the door, however, she paused to take a deep breath. Ignoring the trembling in her hand, she twisted the lock on the door and stepped through as it opened.  


Four figures stood around one of the old desks in the center of the room, looking at a glowing projection that hovered in the air before them. At the sound of the door, they all turned to look toward it, and Aloy immediately locked eyes with the look-alike at the head of the group. She clenched her jaw as she tried not to let any other outward reaction show and made her way to the desk, as well.  


When she reached it, she took a spot on the far side of the group from the other redhead, between even if it meant standing beside Talanah, who only spared her a quick glance before turning back to the image before them.  


“Good morning,” Elisabet said, still watching Aloy, even though she did not meet her gaze. “I was just going over what we need to do to get the other facility functional enough for our uses.”  


“Good,” Aloy replied shortly, nodding and focusing on the floating image, rather than Elisabet, herself.  


After another moment or two, the sound of a clearing throat came from her end of the group, followed by a heavy sigh.  


“So, the main thing we’re going to need to contend with is power,” she began. “From what we’ve been able to scan of signatures within the ruins, it seems there are still some functioning power cells. We don’t need a whole lot to work with, but the hardest part will undoubtedly be finding a location where we can centralize all of that available power. As memory serves, the entire facility’s not in the greatest shape, and undoubtedly there are going to be some dark spots on the power grid… uh, places where power isn’t going to reach, no matter what we do.”  


As Aloy studied the image floating before them, she realized that it was a map of the facility and she found herself subconsciously reaching toward her Focus before, once again, playing it off by running her hand through her hair, which she had only loosely secured behind herself before leaving earlier.  


“So, we’re going searching for these power cells, then?” Talanah asked, bringing Aloy’s attention back to the conversation at hand.  


“For now, yes. Once we find as many as we can, I’m thinking we’ll want to convene them here,” Elisabet said, gesturing to a place on the map that suddenly lit up with a small, red circle. “It’s near the bottom of the facility, but it has minimal structure or water damage.”  


“So what happens after we found all these cells?” Petra chimed in.  


“Then we start setting up MINERVA,” Elisabet sighed. “We’re going to more or less need to get her up to speed before we find a portable way to carry the subfunction to the real towers—like the Spire.”  


“And… how do we do that?”  


The look-alike smirked, sending a shiver down Aloy’s spine, and folded her arms over her chest.  


“I’ll work on that part,” she said. “It would take quite a bit of training to get any of you up to speed on coding and programming.”  


“We know, we’re here for the heavy lifting,” Aloy sighed, finally turning her gaze on the look-alike at the far end of the group. “Just tell us what and where.”  


The other redhead frowned slightly as Aloy met her expression with a hard look.  


“We can’t go all as one group, though,” she continued. “The Nora are certainly going to start believing the Metal Devil’s minions walk among them if they see us together.”  


“Right,” Elisabet nodded. “We’ll go in two groups, with a good amount of time between them.”  


“I’ll go first,” Aloy said quickly. “Erend and I’ll head over and start looking around.”  


An unreadable expression passed over the other redhead’s face for a moment before she nodded slowly.  


“Sounds like a plan.”  


With that, she gave Erend a quick glance before pushing away from the desk.  


“I’ve already got my things. Erend?”  


“I’m good.”  


“Give it an hour or so before heading over,” Aloy said as she moved past the end of the group, taking care to only glance in the vague direction of Elisabet as she passed, but didn’t meet her actual gaze.  


Without waiting for a response, either, she made her way out of the control room and kept up her steady pace until she reached the entryway to the facility, where she finally came to a stop and glanced back to see if Erend was following. He had kept up in silence, though, and merely raised his eyebrows slightly as she met his gaze.  


She took a breath, as if to say something, but instead simply nodded toward the door and twisted the holographic lock.  


The trip to the much more abandoned ruins passed in a similar silence until they reached the edge of the hole where they had placed the small tower the day before. Aloy crouched on the edge of it, glancing into the darkness below for a moment or two before rising to her feet with a sigh and turning back to Erend.  


“From what I remember, we shouldn’t have to worry about falling through the floor or anything,” she said.  


“Well, that’s good.”  


He grinned as she rolled her eyes but turned to hop onto the small portion of collapsed cement that led up to the lip of the hole. Their descent into the facility sent shivers down Aloy’s spine at each familiar sight from her childhood, until they finally came upon the large, partially open room where the headless corpse still lay in the center.  


“So… what exactly are we looking for down here, then?” Erend asked.  


“Power cells,” Aloy replied, tapping her Focus. “Anybody hear me?”  


A moment later, a welcome voice sounded in her ear and she found a grin pulling at her lips.  


“Yes, Aloy, communication is clear,” GAIA replied. “I see that you have reached the ruins.”  


“I have. Any ideas where to find these power cells we’re looking for?”  


“Scans and references to available schematics indicate that a room nearby should have several, however they are being used to power the nearby door. You may wish to prop it open before removing them.”  


“How, uh, how do we do that?”  


GAIA walked her through how to override any facility’s doors with her Focus to freeze them open, describing it as similar to locking them, but just not when they were closed. With the door taken care of, she let out a heavy sigh, turning back to Erend, who had watched the entire thing with an expression somewhere between bewildered and impressed.  


“You get all that?” she teased, smirking.  


Erend blinked several times before turning his focus to her.  


“What?”  


“Good thing one of us was paying attention.”  


He gave her an admonishing look as she laughed. A moment later, something flashed at the edge of her vision and she turned toward it to find a yellow diamond, not unlike the one she had grown accustomed to when using the Focus for navigation while travelling, placed over several tall, imposing banks of metal in a nearby room, just barely visible through what used to be a window, but had since become covered by rock formations.  


“These are the nearby power cells,” GAIA’s voice explained in her ear. “There should be at least several that are fully functional and have a good amount of charge remaining.”  


Aloy glanced over at Erend before waving for him to follow after her. They made their way around the outside of the large, circular room they were in until they came to a short hallway and a door that seemed to be perennially frozen open by some heavy rocks that blocked the left side. As they slipped through the doorway and the hole in the wall that had formed at some point ahead of them, the holographic yellow diamond grew larger and larger. Finally, when they stood in the room, itself, the diamond had grown to cover almost the entire side of one of the metal banks.  


“Here we are…”  


“So what do these power cells look like, exactly?” Erend asked, following Aloy around the side of the metal banks.  


“Like…” she began, but paused as she grabbed one of the small, metal handles beneath the holographic green projection over it, twisting and pulling with all of her strength until the rectangular block of metal clicked and began to slide out of its holder, the holographic circle turning red, “like this.”  


She held the power cell up for Erend to see and he nodded slowly.  


“There should be a few more in this row, so why don’t you start at the opposite end?”  


He nodded again and Aloy pressed herself against the bank so there was room for him to squeeze by behind her. Once he was at the farthest power cell, smaller, yellow diamonds appeared over his and two others between them.  


“These are all the fully functioning power cells with enough power for what we need,” GAIA chimed in. “Once you have all four, continue onward through the door you held open; there should be more farther into the facility.”  


Aloy made quick work of the power cell next to the one she had already taken, and was on to the next one, even, while Erend was still struggling with the first one. She gave him a quick smirk before pulling the last one, herself, and slipping it into the empty bag on her belt before approaching the Oseram at his first and only power cell.  


“Having some trouble, there?”  


“How do these forsaken things… come out?” he grunted, his face showing the strain as he twisted and tugged on it, but to no avail.  


Aloy sighed, and pat him on the shoulder.  


“Let me try.”  


There wasn’t much room for him to move out of the way, so he simply slid as far against the wall to his left as he could, while Aloy grabbed onto the small loop at the end of the power cell and tried to twist it, as she had with the others. When she did, however, it showed no signs of moving. After several seconds of frustrated twisting, pulling, and muttered curses, she finally gave up with a huff of frustration, turning back to Erend.  


“Guess you were right.”  


He gave her an amused look and she sighed, turning to head back into the main room, once again.  


“GAIA, that last one’s not coming loose, no matter what we do.”  


“Oh… unfortunate. There are others farther ahead. Hopefully you will not run into similar problems with them.”  


Their trek through the facility in search of the various power cells GAIA had located seemed to fly by as each new challenge they encountered was met with bouts of sarcasm, feigned bravado, and attempts to show each other up with any opportunity. Finally, when Aloy had retrieved the final power cell from an old storage space on a catwalk above the main floor of the room, she hopped down before Erend and waved the hunk of metal in her hand before him.  


“I think that means I win?”  


He gave her an admonishing look.  


“Says who?”  


“Says me.”  


“That sounds biased.”  


“Too bad.”  


She laughed as she handed him the cell and he slid it into the bag on his belt just before the voice of GAIA chimed in their ears, once again.  


“That should be all of the power cells I can identify that should serve our purpose. The room Elisabet identified earlier is not far from you, now. Head there and the others will join you shortly.”  


Aloy recoiled in surprise slightly, glancing over at Erend.  


“Has it already been an hour?”  


“Indeed it has,” GAIA replied, her tone easily conveying her amusement. “They are just about to enter the ruins, themselves, actually.”  


The edges of Aloy’s smile began to fall as Erend’s expression mimicked hers. He placed a hand on her shoulder, bringing the clarity back to her eyes as she blinked rapidly.  


“C’mon, we’re all here together,” he said quietly. “Remember what I said?”  


She nodded, taking a deep breath of the musty, dust-filled air before straightening up and nodding. With that, Erend’s hand fell from her shoulder and he began to lead the way out of the room with the last power cell and back toward the yellow diamond that had been projected on the door to their right. They followed the trail of projections until they finally reached the room Elisabet had evidently chosen to use.  


The room was not exceedingly large, and appeared to mostly only have one desk on the far side, although several large crates stood along the wall to the right and the wall to the left was covered in some kind of ancient rectangles that had long since gone dark, although the Focus tried to project some kind of repeating, blue and purple images over them.  


“I’ve been seeing this stuff the whole time we’ve been here,” Erend said, stepping up to the flickering images. “Do they mean anything?”  


“They are residual data from the facility. Essentially, you are seeing a few seconds of some of the last images these displays ever showed.”  


A shiver ran down both of their spines at GAIA’s explanation. They exchanged glances, but didn’t have time to say anything before the sounds of footsteps and voices began to approach and they turned back to the main doorway. A few moments later, three figures appeared from the hallway beyond, led by Elisabet. She and Aloy locked eyes for a moment before Aloy turned her gaze away, glancing down at her belt as she pulled some of the power cells free.  


“You found them already?” Petra commented. “You two work fast.”  


Aloy shot her an admonishing look as Petra flashed a devilish grin. The redhead rolled her eyes before turning and placing the power cells on the edge of the desk nearby.  


“One or two weren’t able to be removed,” she explained, turning back to the group as Elisabet approached, looking over the cells.  


The other redhead nodded, lining them up evenly with each other in a row before nodding and glancing up at her.  


“Seems like we should have enough, though.”  


She tried to offer a smile, but Aloy returned it with a tight-lipped expression and began to pace away. After a few moments, Elisabet sighed and turned back to the rest of the group.  


“So, Aloy and Erend grabbed all of the power cells, which is a good start. This room used to be the Site Director’s office, so once it’s more up and running, it should have the capabilities to use the workstations like back at the other facility. Once we have the ability to use those, it’ll be time to start getting MINERVA up to speed.”  


The rest of the group nodded before Petra spoke up.  


“So what can we do to help get this place running?”  


The plan, as laid out by Elisabet and GAIA, involved a good amount of dismantling existing things and either taking parts from them or at least changing what their uses were. Petra was the go-to for most of these plans, at least until she could explain what needed to be done before leaving the other group members to their tasks… albeit with close supervision.  


Aloy had been charged with overseeing the facility’s system side of the repairs, monitoring a nearby workstation while Talanah and Erend tried to connect the nearby power cells to part of an existing system. The workstation she was monitoring stood just outside the door to the actual room where the other two were working, so she was left mostly by herself as she took a seat on the edge of the old desk, sighing and grimacing slightly as she shifted her position against the dull throb of pain that shot across her stomach from the bruises, still.  


She listened to the sounds of the other three working through the nearby doorway, smirking each time she heard a muttered curse or growl of frustration. Just as she had begun to drift off into her own thoughts, something touched her shoulder and she jumped, nearly falling off the desk as she let out a yelp of surprise. As she whirled around, getting to her feet, she found her jaw clenching. Elisabet stood on the other side of the desk, her look of surprise turning to a slight half-frown.  


“Didn’t mean to scare you,” she said.  


Aloy shrugged awkwardly, quickly folding her arms over her chest, despite the pain, to try to hide it.  


“I just wanted to… check in with you,” she continued quietly.  


“I’m just waiting for them to finish,” Aloy replied, nodding toward the room.  


“No, not… not about that,” Elisabet replied, shaking her head. “About… you.”  


The redhead immediately grew tense, but quickly tried to pass it off, yet again, by shrugging awkwardly.  


“Same as usual.”  


“Even with things—as they have been—this isn’t usual for you, still.”  


“Nothing—” Aloy began, but cut herself off, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. “I said yesterday—”  


“You said a lot of things yesterday.”  


“I said yesterday,” she repeated, opening her eyes and shooting Elisabet a hard look, “that I need some time to process everything. One night is not quite enough.”  


The other redhead’s face fell, but she nodded.  


“I just… everything I’ve done is to try to help,” Elisabet said softly. “I’m sorry if it… if it hasn’t felt that way… but I’m just a person, too. I make mistakes.”  


Aloy’s jaw worked tensely as she stared back at her look-alike for several long moments. Before she could say anything else, however, motion out of the corner of her eye drew her attention to the doorway, where she found Petra’s head leaning around it.  


“Hey, I think we got ‘em hooked up. Can you check?”  


Aloy nodded, quickly turning to the workstation beside her and activating her Focus interface. As the box above the desk came into focus, she noted that it seemed to be displaying something other than the usual, flickering images. They had settled into a single, cohesive display that still showed the FAS logo in the center, however a small bar beneath it was beginning to fill with white from the left to the right. Once it reached the end of the bar, the box cleared, only for it to fill with a new image that made Aloy pull back slightly, confusion creasing her face.  


“It’s… it’s just an image of a forest.”  


Footsteps moved around the desk and a moment later, another hand came into view, swiping across the image. As it did, the image blurred and an empty box below what appeared to be a name appeared in the center.  


“Wonder if my credentials still hold up…”  


Aloy glanced over at Elisabet beside her as she tapped the small, empty box to bring up a grid of letters on the bottom half of the larger box. The redhead’s fingers danced across the grid faster than Aloy was able to comprehend, but as she glanced up at the box, she realized that it had filled with text.  


“DoDSysAdmin.”  


“What…?”  


A moment later, the box cleared and was replaced with another one.  


“It’s making us guess a password?” Aloy asked, confusion evident on her face and in her voice.  


“Not guess,” Elisabet laughed. “I think I still know it…”  


Her fingers danced across the grid, once again, but only small, black circles filled it. A moment later, she hit the button on the far right of the grid and leaned back. A circle began to spin in the center of the larger box for several seconds until the blur seemed to lift off the image, once again, but this time, multiple, smaller images and logos began to fill the workstation.  


Elisabet let out a short, triumphant laugh as she pumped her fist in the air.  


“Still got it.”  


Aloy gave her a strange look as she simply returned it with a wide grin.  


“As part of Zero Dawn, I got administrative privileges to access the Department of Defense networks. Guess a thousand years later, I still do.”  


The huntress blinked slowly at her and Elisabet laughed.  


“Nevermind. Important thing is that we can access the facility’s network and start using it for our own purposes.”  


“So we’re good?”  


They both looked over at Petra in surprise before Aloy shrugged.  


“Yes, we’re good,” Elisabet answered.  


Petra glanced between them for a moment before chuckling and shaking her head.  


“Doesn’t feel like real life…”  


Aloy’s lips pulled into a thin line as she glanced over at Elisabet, who gave her a similar look. A moment later, the sound of the others exiting the room with the power cells brought their attention back to the group.  


“So… now you work your magic?” Erend asked, glancing over at the two women as he exited the room they had been working in, wiping his hands together before him.  


“Right,” Elisabet said quickly, turning back to the others. “I brought the drives for MINERVA. I’ll start getting everything set up here.”  


“So… what do the rest of us do in the meantime?”  


“Food supplies seem to be running low.”  


They all exchanged knowing glances before turning to make their exit from the ruins.  


“You coming, Aloy?”  


The huntress bit her lower lip for a moment, staring down at the workstation Elisabet had just unlocked, before she finally spared a glance at her look-alike beside her.  


“Go,” she said quietly, nodding toward the others. “I’ve got this.”  


Finally, Aloy gave a quick nod and turned to move around the desk to follow the others.  


“Oh, just… uh… don’t go near Mother’s Watch for a little while,” Elisabet called after them.  


“Why?”  


“Well we just left there not long ago, and while we may have been able to fool them once with identical red-haired women leaving, going back so soon might be a little much.”  


Aloy nodded slowly, only sparing a quick glance toward Elisabet before turning back to the others in the group.  


“There’s not much in the way of supplies there, anyway,” she shrugged. “We’ll go somewhere else.”  


Without waiting for a response, she slipped between the other three and began to lead the way through the facility back toward where they had entered from originally. When she had finally dragged herself out of the hole in the ground, and stood in the midday sunlight, stretching her arms across her chest, she finally glanced back to make sure the others had followed.  


Sure enough, they had, and Erend was just helping Petra climb over the lip of the hole. Aloy’s gaze quickly turned to Talanah, who stood nearby, swinging her arms absentmindedly at her sides. The Carja huntress didn’t immediately convey the same stiffness or pain as she had when they had made it back after the hunt, but Aloy had a feeling that she was not back to her full, normal self by the baggier, more loose-fitting Carja silk outfit she was wearing. A moment later, Talanah shivered slightly and happened to glance toward Aloy before pulling an awkward double take and offering a tight-lipped smile.  


Aloy returned it with one of her own as she let her arms fall to her sides with a sigh.  


“You… you feeling better?” she asked quietly, approaching the other huntress.  


Talanah shrugged.  


“I can breathe normally, again, so I’ll take that as a good sign.”  


Aloy’s lips pulled into a thin line, but before she could say anything else, Petra and Erend appeared beside them, drawing both of their attentions to them as Erend flashed Aloy a devilish smirk.  


“So… is now a good time to find some more of whatever that stuff in the wooden jugs was?”  


Aloy gave him an admonishing look as Petra elbowed him with a good amount of force, causing him to wince.  


“What?”  


“You know what? Fine. Let’s go to Mother’s Heart.”  


With that, she sighed and began to lead the way away from the ruins, trying her best to ignore the hair that was standing up on the back of her neck.  


“Maybe it could help that, a bit, after all…”

  


  


By the time the group returned to the outside of Mother’s Watch, the sun had sunk well below the horizon, although the sky still bore the tell-tale bright oranges and deep blues of a sunset, the last remnants of the light reflecting slightly off the twisting metal appendages of the half-buried Faro Horus in the top of the mountain. Aloy eyed the machine warily for a moment, a strange shiver running down her spine as she rubbed at her upper arms.  


“Y’re not cold, are’ya?”  


She glanced over at Erend as he staggered slightly before coming to a stop beside her. In addition to the lack of coordination in his movements, the stench of alcohol from even a few feet away was enough to tell her that he must have had more of the Nora spirits when she wasn’t looking.  


“No,” she sighed, letting her arms fall to her sides, “just… weird feeling.”  


“What… what kinda weird feelin’?”  


“Same as usual,” she shrugged. “Same as last night.”  


“Oh…” he said, his facial expression and inflection much more exaggerated than usual. “You mean the ‘ole ‘Lisbet lookin’ like you thing?”  


Aloy’s eyes widened as she glanced around, but luckily they were still far enough away from the gates of Mother’s Watch that they were still relatively alone, and the Nora guards on the wall seemed to be paying them little mind.  


“Keep it down about that, okay?” Aloy hissed, stepping closer to Erend.  


“Sorry…”  


She sighed, rubbing her eyes tiredly before tapping her Focus.  


“GAIA?”  


“Yes, Aloy?” came the almost instant response.  


“Are we needed at the ruins, at all?”  


A pause followed before the AI replied.  


“Not currently, no. From my observations, however, you may wish to assist Erend in returning to his quarters.”  


“You don’t say…”  


With a sigh, she turned back to the Oseram, closing her Focus interface, once again.  


“Come on, Erend, I think it’s time you got to bed.”  


He gave her what he must have thought was an admonishing look before waving dismissively.  


“I’m fine, I’unno what…”  


He paused for a moment, suddenly putting a hand over his mouth, prompting Aloy to take a step back. After a few seconds, however, it seemed to pass and he sighed, letting his hand fall by his side, once again.  


“Okay, maybe you right.”  


She rolled her eyes but placed a hand on his shoulder, turning him in the general direction of the main gate.  


“Come on…”  


She glanced back at the other members of their group to find Talanah and Petra watching from a few feet away with amusement. Aloy gave them a hard look, but Petra simply gestured for her to continue onward, mouthing something that looked like “ _you’ve got this_.”  


Eventually, she was able to guide the inebriated Oseram through the gates of the Nora settlement, but the walk up the path to the mountain entrance proved to be more of a challenge. Petra had finally stepped in to help keep Erend from stumbling and falling every other step, and between the two women, they managed to more or less drag him the remainder of the way to the large door where Aloy was forced to let go of him to activate the scanner by herself.  


Once it was finished, she glanced back, only to find that Talanah had taken her spot and was helping Petra support Erend into the ELEUTHIA facility. Aloy followed them inside, eying Talanah especially for signs that she should take over for the still-injured Carja huntress. Before she knew it, they had reached the door to his apartment, and Talanah had not shown signs of any extreme pain or stress, earning an impressed expression from Aloy.  


Maneuvering through the doorway proved to be more of a challenge than they anticipated, but they eventually got Erend inside and to his bedroll. With a heavy sigh, the three women managed to lay him down on his side. Almost immediately, he tried to sit up, but Aloy quickly pushed him back down.  


“It’s bedtime, Erend,” she said. “Just… relax.”  


“Bedtime? We jus’ getting started! Night’s young!”  


“Maybe another night,” Aloy sighed, patting him on the shoulder. “We’ve got more work in the morning. Take a nap, at least.”  


Erend made a face that bordered on something a petulant child would give his parents, but he eventually sighed and rolled his eyes.  


“Fine, if ya say so…”  


Finally, he lay on his bedroll and didn’t immediately make any moves to stand up, so the three women let him be, stepping back into the main hallway of the apartments.  


“You’ve got a point,” Petra yawned, stretching her arms over her head. “I got a few hours of sleep last night after finishing those towers, so I’m going to try to get some more real sleep before whatever else we get up to tomorrow.”  


Aloy nodded as the Oseram waved goodnight and made her way to her room. As her door slid closed, Aloy and Talanah were left standing in the hallway in a tense, awkward silence. Each of them spared each other quick glances before the Carja finally cleared her throat, bringing their gazes together for more than a split-second for the first time since they had returned to the facility.  


“So… the whole thing with Elisabet…”  


Aloy raised her eyebrows slightly, but said nothing.  


“That’s… a little terrifying.”  


“Oh?”  


Talanah nodded.  


“I… there’s so much I can barely make sense of around here, already, and now there’s two of you?”  


Aloy let out a short, dry laugh.  


“Tell me about it…”  


They exchanged glances, once again, before laughing softly. As it died out, however, they were left in silence for several long moments, although it was Aloy who broke it, this time.  


“I’m glad you’re feeling better.”  


Talanah seemed to jump slightly at the sound of her voice, but quickly recovered as she tried to pass it off with a nonchalant shrug.  


“Just some bruises…”  


“You were in pretty bad shape earlier for just some bruises…”  


“Okay, maybe a lot of a bruises,” she shot back, smirking. “I’m still not dying, though.”  


“Good.”  


Talanah gave her a look as Aloy’s face contorted in confusion.  


“What?”  


“That’s all you have to say to that? Good?”  


“What was I supposed to say?”  


Talanah gave her an exasperated look before she broke into laughter and waved dismissively.  


“I’m only joking, Aloy.”  


She shook her head as she felt her lips pull back in a grin. It took her a few seconds before she was finally able to look over at the Carja huntress, once again, only to find that she was already staring back at her.  


“What?”  


“Nothing, just… nothing.”  


Aloy nodded slowly before clearing her throat.  


“Guess we should get some sleep, too, huh?”  


“Is that what normal people do? Sleep?”  


They both laughed once again before Talanah yawned deeply, drawing a smirk from the redhead.  


“Okay, okay, fine,” she muttered.  


“You were the one who slept half the day.”  


“You overestimate how much I was actually able to rest,” she shot back. “Just because I’m not dead doesn’t mean it didn’t hurt.”  


Aloy nodded slowly, her lips flattening into a thin line.  


“You use more of that salve?”  


Talanah shrugged.  


“When I needed to.”  


“You weren’t—?”  


“No, I was being responsible,” she interjected. “Don’t worry, I’m not addicted to it or anything just yet.”  


“Yet?”  


Talanah sighed, shaking her head as she braced her hands on her hips.  


“You know, it almost seems like you’re worried.”  


“I mean… I am.”  


The Carja huntress stared back at her with an expression that almost seemed like a smile, but it somehow seemed to reside more in her eyes than her lips. It was possibly the most genuine emotional expression she had made during the whole conversation.  


“Well… I’m okay,” she said softly. “Don’t worry.”  


Aloy smiled back, as well, giving a short nod.  


“If you say so.”  


Another yawn broke Talanah’s expression before Aloy glanced toward her door.  


“I get the hint.”  


The redhead turned back to Talanah as she finished waving dismissively, turning on her heel slowly as she did.  


“Wake me up in the morning when the excitement starts again.”  


“Sure thing.”  


With that, the Carja huntress lazily made her way back to her door and opened it. As soon as she had stepped inside, disappearing from sight, Aloy let out a yawn of her own and turned on her heel toward her door. She lazily twisted her hand over the lock and waited for it to slide open before padding through it.  


Another yawn immediately escaped her as she rolled her neck slightly, stretching her arms over her head, as well. With a groan she lowered her arms, untying her belt to toss on top of her equipment. Just as she went to drop it on her possessions, however, something made her stop.  


She stared down at her things for several long moments before she realized what had caught her attention: things had been moved. With a frown, Aloy placed the belt off to the side before crouching down next to her possessions. Her bag with clothing appeared to have been rearranged, while the other immediate thing that caught her attention was that her spear was now lying atop all of it, rather than against the wall.  


Her head tilted to the side slightly as she grabbed the weapon, lifting it from its place with a frown. Immediately, she paused, tilting the weapon back and forth in her hand slightly.  


“Something’s off…”  


She glanced up and down the length of the shaft, but didn’t see anything immediately broken or damaged, nor was there any portion of the blade missing or damaged. Finally, her eyes travelled to the far end of the staff, her body instantly freezing in place as she caught sight of what was wrong with the spear.  


More accurately, her eyes were focused on what was missing.  


“The Override…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so it begins. Don't say I didn't warn you. See y'all next week.


	23. Speak Like You Talk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Monday y'all.
> 
> So after last week, it's time to get some answers.
> 
> Perhaps.
> 
> So also, we're VERY close to the end of this, by now. I hope y'all are still following along and not too scared.
> 
> All I'll say is... trust me.
> 
> Let's get on with it.

Ice poured through her veins as she suddenly dropped the spear on top of her possessions, grabbing her belt off the floor beside her and tying it around her waist, once again. As soon as it was in place, she raced to the door to her apartment, sliding through the door before it had even opened fully and immediately taking off at a spring for the far end.  


The general ache in her torso began to flare as she charged up the stairs to the top level of the facility, but she didn’t pause or slow her pace. Within moments, she was standing at the large, front door, impatiently waiting for it to open. When it was just wide enough for her to hop through, she slipped between the large, metal blades and again took off at a dead spring toward the passageway out of the mountain.  


The tunnel passed in a blur of orange and brown, and the next thing she knew, she was back in the chilly air of an autumn night in the Embrace. Her feet barely seemed to touch the ground as she flew down the path to Mother’s Watch, only seeming to come in contact as she skidded to a halt before the main gate.  


“Open up! I need to get outside!” she called, waving toward the Nora Braves on top of the wall.  


“So soon? You just returned.”  


“Please! It’s important!”  


The lead Brave glanced at his partner before shrugging and signaling to the one in charge of opening the large, wooden portal. Once it was just barely wide enough for her to squeeze through, Aloy turned sideways and slid through the opening, hopping slightly on the other side to keep her balance before taking off at a sprint along the trail to her right, once again.  


Although the world that new fly by her was dark enough that everything seemed to fade into a single, black mass, she soon found herself turning off the trail at the exact right moment to skid to a halt beside the large boulder at the edge of the hole into the smaller ruin. She glanced into the darkness below her for several moments, but it was nearly impossible to make out anything in the current light.  


With a few deep breaths, she hopped into the opening, skidding down the short slope into the metal ruins of the ancient facility. Her pace was forced to slow from a sprint once she was inside, as the narrow hallways and uneven floors made it difficult to move faster than a light jog in most places.  


Although the ruins had been dark during the daytime, the added layer of the lack of sunlight outside made some of the sections feel even more so than before. When she reached the large, circular room halfway along the path through the ruins, she paused in the doorway, scanning over the space slowly.  


The opening above let a faint beam of moonlight in, highlighting the headless corpse as the sunlight did during the day, but something about the silvery glow seemed much more foreboding than the bright gold and white. Finally, she took a deep breath and made her way across the room, taking extra care to step over the corpse, before making her way through the doors left frozen open from her original trip through the ruins with Erend.  


She continued on into one of the lower levels of the ancient facility, although she quickly grew somewhat confused and lost as she entered lots of smaller side rooms, unable to fully see that they didn’t lead anywhere until she was standing in the middle of them, the soft blue and purple lights of the ancient displays and projections providing barely enough light to make out her surroundings.  


Finally, she found herself in a somewhat larger, familiar room, and she quickly approached the far end, passing the workstation she remembered from earlier, its display still showing the image of the forest, although a small box now sat in the center of it. She glanced toward the doorway ahead of her for a moment, but the facility was as dark and silent as ever. With a frown, she turned back to the workstation, leaning over the desk slightly to better see the display. The box in the center of the image simply stated the same strange title Elisabet had entered earlier, “DoDSysAdmin” with an unfamiliar image of a square with a semicircle affixed to its top beneath it.  


With a slight frown, she turned away from the display, and cautiously made her way toward the doorway behind her. Once she reached it, she pressed up against the wall at the edge of the doorframe, leaning her head around the corner to survey the space, but no immediate signs of other people or motion caught her eye, so she slowly stepped inside.  


A faint glow came from the room to the right, where Elisabet had requested they set up the operation to revive MINERVA, so Aloy cautiously began to creep toward it. As she stepped into the doorway, she found the displays along the wall to her left were now functioning, and didn’t show the same scramble of text, images, and numbers as most of them usually did in ruins. In particular, it appeared there were two displays, the one on the left seemingly static with the a complete, white circle in the center of it, while the other bore a slowly filling circle, with the white portion almost three quarters of the way full.  


Confusion creased her face as she turned away from the displays, scanning the rest of the room before her eyes locked onto something on the desk on the far side. A faint, red glow emitted from it in a steady pulse, faintly revealing the strange, metallic device. Aloy’s eyes widened for a moment before her jaw clenched tightly and she moved toward it.  


Just as she grabbed the Master Override off the desk, a voice rang out in the room that immediately froze her in place, her heart stopping for a moment or two at the mere sound alone.  


“Entity has… returned.”  


She slowly turned to look over her shoulder at the displays behind her.  


“Entity was not expected for several hours.”  


The display with the completed circle on the left had suddenly filled with a deep red color, almost like a large, glowing eye in its center.  


“MINERVA function has not finished upload. Has entity changed its mind?”  


Aloy slowly placed the Override back on the desk as she turned to face the display, her hands instinctually curling into fists at her sides. Every word that sounded in her ear sent shivers down her spine, every hair on her arms and the back of her neck standing on end.  


“You… you shouldn’t be here…” she growled softly.  


“Entity placed me here. Entity’s statement does not follow a logical convention.”  


Aloy came to a stop before the display of the singular red circle, her eyes locked on the visual representation of the very thing she had fought to kill, after the numerous times it had tried to kill her.  


“Error, readings of entity are not consistent with databased information. Something has changed.”  


Aloy’s eyes widened as she froze in place, staring at the image of HADES as a deep, penetrating cold settled into her body.  


“What… what did you just say?”  


“Entity does not display similar readings as previous interaction. Entity now appears biological. Entity did not exhibit such readings previously.”  


Aloy’s look of fear slowly began to contort in pure rage as her fingers clenched into tight fists at her sides, her teeth grinding slowly against each other.  


“Elisabet…”  


“Entity did present itself with the name of the human who created original system,” the voice of HADES continued. “Entity now appears to be the same one who halted transmission from the Southwest tower. Has entity arrived to attempt to destroy me, once again?”  


Without saying another word, Aloy suddenly spun toward the door out of the room, gripping the doorframe to help swing herself through the opening. As soon as she had descended the short set of stairs to the room with the workstation she had approached earlier, she paused, glancing at the display, once again.  


“She did something with it before…” she muttered, her fingers twitching slightly at her side before she let out a frustrated growl and quickly maneuvered around the desk, heading for the door into the room where Erend, Talanah, and Petra had set up the power cells, earlier.  


As she entered, she immediately found the two rows of tall, metal banks much like the ones she and Erend had found the power cells in throughout the ruins. Each of the rectangular, metal sections featured a glowing, green circle in the center of the room, and so she immediately made her way to the first one on the left, gripping the access handle for the power cell tightly before twisting it to the left.  


The cell turned with a heavy clunk, and the green circle immediately turned red.  


“Entity is attempting to disrupt power flow to facility.”  


“That’s the plan.”  


“Entity… is working against itself?”  


Aloy paused, her hand on the second power cell, before she took a deep breath in through her nose.  


“Certainly looks that way.”  


With that, she quickly set up about removing each power cell, until all of the displays showed the same, red circles with large X’s in the center of them. A heavy sigh escaped her as she stepped into the center of the room, her chest heaving with each panting breath. After several long seconds of waiting for something to happen, she turned back to the door into the main room and stepped outside.  


The workstation to her left had suddenly gone dark, along with most of the blue and purple lights throughout the room. She quickly made her way back to the smaller space here the displays of the two AIs had been moments ago, only to find that it had gone dark, as well. With her jaw set, Aloy quickly crossed the room, grabbing the Override before turning on her heel and hurrying back out of the door.  


She was about to turn back the way she came when she remembered that there was a second way out of the ruins, and continued straight. It didn’t take her long to reach the partially-flooded room with the enormous metal tube set into the far wall. A shiver ran through her, but she quickly pushed past it, making her way up the short set of stairs to her right and entering the much more cave-like sections through the doorway ahead of her.  


When she reached the empty room where she first remembered landing as a child, she paused, glancing up toward the moonlight streaming in through the opening overhead.  


“Bit of a climb… did she go out this way, too?”  


With a frown, she quickly began to scale the walls of the opening, making her way to the top in only a minute or so. When she dragged herself out of the hole and onto the grass outside, she heaved another heavy sigh, shaking her hands at the slight burning sensation that had begun to settle into them from gripping onto rough, rocky surfaces so tightly.  


“Only one place she could be…”  


With that, she quickly dragged herself to her feet and took off at a sprint back toward Mother’s Watch. The return journey seemed to go by much slower, even though she ran at the same speed as she had the first time. When she finally reached the gate, she skidded to a halt, waving her arms and shouting to catch the attention of the Braves on watch.  


“What the…? By the goddess, didn’t she just come back?” the lead Brave said, glancing at his partner.  


Ice poured through Aloy’s veins as she cleared her throat, forcing herself to speak.  


“Something bad may have happened. Open the gate right now!”  


They exchanged glances, once again, pausing just long enough that Aloy felt her heart rate begin to skyrocket even further. After a few more moments, however, the lead Brave gestured to someone out of sight and the gate began to swing open. Once again, as soon as it was wide enough for her to squeeze through, she rushed the opening and slid between the large, wooden doors.  


More muttering sounded almost as soon as she entered the courtyard, but she ignored all of it as she took off at a sprint toward the path up to the mountain entrance, once again. Her boots slipped on one of the last small steps of wooden beams embedded into the hillside and she staggered forward, throwing her hands out before only to accidentally let go of the Override and send it flying several feet ahead.  


With a muttered curse, she scrambled forward, grabbing the device and quickly turning it over in her hands. The metal casing had a new scratch on one side, but otherwise still seemed to be in working order, as the faint glowing still emitted from the ring at one end. Heaving a heavy sigh, she continued her race onward, charging into the mountain passageway and down the incline as fast as she dared to move without losing her balance.  


When she reached the platform before the door, she skidded to a halt, impatiently waiting as the red light passed over her. Finally, when it had verified her identity, she rushed toward the door, waiting until she could step over the still-opening metal portion and into the ruin. She staggered for a step or two until she caught her balance, once again, and took off in a headlong dash along the upper level of the ELEUTHIA facility.  


As she reached the far end, she made her way down to the row of APOLLO workstations, only sparing a passing glance at the large window at the front of the Control Room before racing between the ancient workstations toward it. When she burst into the room moments later, she quickly skidded to a halt, confusion creasing her face.  


The Control Room was empty.  


She whirled in place, searching for any signs of the others, but it was entirely still and quiet. A moment later, however, her Focus interface activated and the image of GAIA materialized before her.  


“Query: what is wrong, Aloy?”  


“Where’s Elisabet?” she demanded, her tone breathy and hoarse.  


GAIA recoiled slightly at the volume, but her expression quickly turned to one of concern.  


“I’m… not certain.”  


“What? What do you mean?”  


“I… I cannot locate her position,” GAIA said slowly. “I can sense that she is primarily utilizing the Servitor bot… but I do not know where.”  


Aloy let out a growl before spinning in place, miming throwing the Override across the room even as she kept a deathgrip on the device.  


“Fuck!”  


“Aloy… your behavior and this revelation are concerning to me,” the AI said slowly. “Has something happened?”  


“I just found this in the other ruins,” she said, whirling back to the image of the AI and holding out the Override. “HADES was on one of the displays there, and… it spoke to me.”  


GAIA’s look of concern only deepened as she glanced at the device in Aloy’s hand before looking back up at her.  


“Query: you believe Elisabet did this?”  


“Yes.”  


“Query: what do you feel she would hope to gain from bringing HADES back?”  


“I don’t know, but with how adamant she is to do it… something feels wrong, GAIA.”  


“I understand, Aloy.”  


“You don’t… you can’t see anything about why she did it?”  


The image shook her head.  


“Although we share the same space, I am not able to access what essentially amounts to her programming, her thoughts, whenever I want. As of this moment, however, my ability to perceive her and communicate is much more limited than normal.”  


Aloy’s jaw worked tensely before she let out a low growl.  


“This can’t be good.”  


“I am concerned, as well, Aloy.”  


After a few moments of tense silence, Aloy suddenly spun toward the door out of the Control Room and quickly stalked toward it.  


“Query: where are you going?”  


“There’s only so many places she can be,” the redhead shot back. “She must be in this ruin somewhere, because the Nora in the village outside acted as if they had seen two of me.”  


With that, she hurried back through the row of APOLLO workstations and to the entrance to Petra’s makeshift workshop. The room was as empty and silent as the Control Room, however, and she quickly turned away, making her way to the stairwell leading to the lower levels.  


Searches of the floors where they had conducted maintenance to fix the facility’s power and the area where Petra and she had retrieved the Servitor bots, originally, yielded no signs of the other redhead, either. Finally, with a huff of frustration, Aloy came to a stop at the end of the hallway where they had taken up residence in their various apartments.  


“GAIA, I can’t… she’s not anywhere,” she muttered.  


“I do not doubt your initial assessment that she should be here,” the AI chimed in, “however I have not been able to locate her potential position, either.”  


Just as Aloy opened her mouth to say something else, she paused, falling silent. After several long moments of the silence, GAIA’s voice sounded in her ear, once again.  


“Query: is something wrong Aloy?”  


“Shhh…”  


She slowly began to move down the hallway, her face displaying an expression of intense concentration. Finally, she came to a stop at a particular door roughly three or four ahead of her, on the left. She slowly moved over to it, placing her ear against its cold metal surface. The sound of muffled voices came from inside, and while the actual words were mostly indistinguishable, the tones were clearly identifiable.  


As her jaw clenched even tighter, she leaned away from the door, taking several deep breaths through her nose before twisting the holographic lock, not even bothering to knock or announce her presence in advance.  


The door to Erend’s apartment slid open, immediately revealing a scene that stopped Aloy in her tracks after only taking a single step into the room. Two figures stood on the far side, one of them with their back to the wall, while the other stood incredibly close to them. At the sound of the opening door, the figure against the wall glanced up, only to pull a double take, brow furrowing in confusion.  


“A-Aloy? But…”  


The identical redhead before him glanced back before letting out a heavy sigh and stepping away from the confused Oseram.  


“I was hoping…”  


“Hoping that what?!” Aloy spat, stalking several steps closer into the room. “What are you doing?!”  


“W-wait… you’re… she’s… not…” Erend glanced down at the redhead closest to him, his face immediately losing all color.  


“I was hoping you were asleep,” the look-alike finished, folding her arms over her chest.  


“Why? So you could get HADES back and—apparently—seduce Erend?”  


“Uh… whoa… I…” he chimed in, raising his hands defensively.  


“Calm down,” the other redhead sighed. “I was not trying to _seduce_ him.”  


“Then what were you just doing?”  


“I… we were talking.”  


“Sure didn’t look like it.”  


“Well, we were.”  


Suddenly, the other redhead’s eyes flicked down toward Aloy’s right hand and her posture immediately stiffened.  


“Where did you get that?”  


“This?” Aloy shot back, waving the Override before her. “I found it at the other ruins… when I found HADES… _you_ put it there, didn’t you?”  


The redhead let out a huff of frustration.  


“I was not bringing it back to turn it loose, Aloy.”  


“We talked about this!” she shot back, her voice rising in pitch and volume. “We weren’t going to do anything with it until we came to more of an agreement! You _promised_!”  


“Aloy, I…” the look-alike sighed, rubbing one temple tiredly.  


“I—I trusted you!”  


“Aloy, stop.”  


She continued to stare back at the look-alike across from her, the expression bordering on annoyance one that immediately felt familiar, even if she had never been on the receiving end of it.  


“I have tried to explain this to you time and time again, but you just start yelling before I can ever get anywhere,” she said slowly. “In addition to MINERVA, our best chance of trying to get the other subfunctions is to study HADES, figure out what makes it tick. It’s been around for these thousand years, unlike the ELEUTHIA and GAIA we have right now, so if anything is going to have any sort of information on what’s happened so far… it’s going to be HADES.”  


“You expect it to _help_?”  


“I’m—I’m not _asking_ it for help!”  


The redhead across from her let out an incredibly frustrated growl before running her hands back over her hair.  


“We can’t afford to keep waiting, Aloy. You may not see it incredibly clearly outside, but the world is _this_ close to going to hell. As soon as you set up those relay nodes outside, GAIA and I were able to gather data from the nearby machines, and the terraforming system is breaking down faster than anyone realized previously. There’s no point in waiting to fix GAIA Prime. The sooner we get it reinstated, and everything functioning again, the sooner we stop everything from dying.”  


“You’ve seen outside,” Aloy shot back, gesturing vaguely to her left, “does that look like a dying world to you? Does that look like that dusty, brown place you came from?”  


The other redhead stopped in her tracks, her jaw clenched, but the expression in her eyes distant.  


“The world is not seconds from death, once again.”  


“Aloy… the world never had a chance to rebuild a full ecosystem,” the look-alike finally said. “You may not see it right now… but things are only going to get worse in the years to come.”  


“Then we at least have time to figure this out fully before you start bringing back demons whose sole focus is killing everything!”  


“It’s not a _demon_ , Aloy, it’s an AI.”  


“Whatever it is… I shut it down.”  


All sound seemed to have been sucked out of the room as the other redhead froze, once again, although this time her gaze was locked on Aloy.  


“What… did you do?”  


Aloy swallowed heavily, lifting her chin somewhat as she stared down the all-too-similar hazel eyes across from her.  


“I pulled out all of the power cells… I removed almost all of the power to the facility, again.”  


“You… you shut it all down…”  


Aloy nodded, but a moment later, the redhead across from her suddenly took several aggressive steps forward, her voice suddenly at a screaming volume.  


“Are you a fucking idiot?!”  


Aloy recoiled slightly at her outburst, but tried to recover as the look-alike continued toward her, the absolute fury that burned in her eyes unlike anything she had seen from such a face.  


“It wasn’t just HADES in that facility!” she continued, her voice no less intense or lower in volume. “MINERVA was there, too. If you pulled the power, you could have corrupted them!”  


Aloy’s back was now pressed against the wall beside the door, but the look-alike continued to draw closer.  


“If both of them are ruined, everything is fucked! You hear me?!” the redhead was now directly in front of her, suddenly grabbing Aloy by the front of her tunic with an iron grip. “You could have fucked everything up!”  


“I-I…”  


“You didn’t think!” the look-alike screamed. “You never do! You just act based on whatever fucking idea pops into your head that second!”  


Aloy’s jaw clenched as she felt the fire building in her chest, her free hand clenching into a fist at her side.  


“For your sake, you better hope—”  


“For my _sake_?!”  


Aloy suddenly shoved the look-alike back, the surprise causing her to let go of her tunic and stagger several steps before regaining her balance.  


“What are you going to do, kill me over it?” Aloy spat. “We both know you couldn’t do that to Sylens, so you just going to leave me for dead somewhere, too?”  


The other redhead’s chest heaved with each panting breath, her eyes holding no less fury and fire than moments ago. Suddenly, before either of them could say anything else, she charged forward, throwing one arm up so it slammed into Aloy’s chest, just below her collarbone. She was thrown backward into the wall, once again, her breath bursting out of her in one explosive burst at the force of the impact.  


She quickly recovered, however, and reached up to push the look-alike aside, but her strength was greater than she anticipated, and she didn’t budge. The arm under her grip was cold and hard, immediately sending a shiver down her spine, but the steadily growing pain in her chest where she was still applying pressure quickly drove Aloy to push back harder.  


She dropped the Master Override beside her before suddenly wrapping one hand behind the look-alike’s back and using it as leverage as she suddenly drove her knee forward. The abdomen it made contact with was as cold and firm as the arm, but the blow was enough to stagger her and provide an opportunity for Aloy to throw her arm aside, using the momentum to turn and shove the look-alike forward into the wall.  


The other redhead hit the surface with a loud bang and a grunt, but she had quickly pushed herself away from the wall a moment later, whirling around, only to find Aloy holding the Master Override, once again, in front of Erend.  


“It’s still glowing,” she said hoarsely. “You didn’t remove HADES from this, did you?”  


The look-alike glared at her as she slowly began to pace before her, Aloy moving in the opposite direction to keep the same amount of distance between them.  


“You want this, then, yeah?”  


The look-alike’s eyes flicked from her face to her hand for a split second, but it was enough of an answer, even if she hadn’t spoken a word aloud. Aloy took a deep breath before suddenly reaching out to her right, twisting the holographic lock over the door beside her. As it opened, she spun on her heel, slipping out it to the sound of some kind of exclamation behind her.  


She didn’t look back as she tore down the hallway at a sprint, racing toward the entrance to the large, circular main room at the end. The echoes of footsteps around the enclosed hallway made it impossible to tell if the look-alike was gaining on her, but she didn’t dare try to look back. As soon as she reached the curved walkway, however, she brought herself to a stop against the railing and spun around, only to find the other redhead skidding to a stop a yard or so away.  


Aloy quickly held the Override out over the edge of the railing, watching as the look-alike’s eyes widened and her face paled.  


“Tell me why I shouldn’t just drop this,” Aloy panted, “why I shouldn’t just destroy HADES right here and now?”  


“Aloy… you know what that is,” the other redhead said slowly. “You know it’s not just a drive with HADES on there. The Master Override is an incredibly powerful tool, and if you destroy it…”  


“It gets rid of HADES, and will have served its purpose,” she interjected. “So like a tool that is past its usefulness…”  


Her fingers began to loosen on the device and the other redhead suddenly stepped forward, one hand shooting out toward her.  


“Don’t!”  


Aloy stopped, keeping her eyes locked on the woman across from her.  


“It’s not a one-time use,” she said, her tone quiet again, but no less urgent. “What you’re holding in your hand has the power to override any part of the Zero Dawn system… to effectively take any and all autonomy and control granted to the AIs from them… We don’t know how the others will react when we try to get them back… If they’re not friendly, like HADES, then we may need it…”  


Aloy paused for a moment, her jaw working tensely.  


“So… just… hold it back from the edge… please…”  


Her eyes refocused on the look-alike across from her as she took a deep breath in through her nose, pulling the Override module back from over the gaping chasm, holding the device closer to her chest.  


“Fine,” she said, “but I can’t give it back to you.”  


“Aloy…”  


“I trusted you,” she spat, “and you broke it.”  


The look-alike’s lips pulled into a thin line as she sighed, shaking her head slowly.  


“I understand…”  


“No, you don’t,” Aloy interrupted. “I… when I first started looking for you… I thought you might be my mother, the biggest missing link in my life.”  


The other redhead had suddenly frozen in place, staring back at her with raised eyebrows.  


“Then when—everything—happened… I understood more, but… I still felt that connection, all the same. Then… everything since the battle at Meridian…”  


The familiar face across from her softened and for a moment Aloy could almost see the image of Elisabet, older and worn from the world that led to the creation of Zero Dawn, instead of the uncanny look-alike that truly stood before her.  


“Aloy… I told you…”  


The other redhead slowly took several steps forward, coming within only a few feet of her.  


“I didn’t mean for it to be such a… bad thing,” she continued softly, one hand hesitantly reaching toward her arm before pausing and retracting slightly. “My intention wasn’t to hurt you, then or now… but you’re also really not getting me.”  


Confusion creased Aloy’s face for a moment before Elisabet’s hand suddenly shot forward, gripping the Override tightly and yanking it from her grasp. She staggered for a moment before her confusion gave way to shock and anger, even as the other redhead took a step back, sighing heavily.  


“Listen, there’s a lot you still have to learn…”  


“You… you cunt!”  


Elisabet’s eyes widened at her sudden insult, but she didn’t have time to react before Aloy suddenly charged forward, lowering her shoulder and slamming into the center of her chest. They were both thrown off their feet, slamming to the floor with Aloy on top of the hard, cold body of Elisabet. She quickly scrambled for the Override, but the other redhead kept a firm hold, despite the sudden attack.  


Elisabet tried to use her other arm to push against Aloy, but the huntress suddenly shoved it aside, only to drive her elbow down on the shoulder of the arm still holding the Override. A cry of pain escaped her as her elbow slammed into the metal beneath the life-like exterior of the Servitor bot, and she recoiled for a moment, giving Elisabet enough time to get her other arm back in front of her and place it on Aloy’s shoulder, trying to hold her back.  


“Hey, knock it off!”  


The huntress’s jaw clenched and she quickly ignored the other redhead’s command, gripping her arm and shoving it upward with as much strength as she could. A loud crunching and popping sound came from the other redhead’s shoulder and a strange look came over her face as she looked down at her arm. She attempted to move it, but the motions were jerky and uncoordinated, a good deal of the dexterity seemingly lost in it.  


“What did you do?!”  


Their eyes met, once again, although this time the roles had seemingly swapped, Aloy’s containing a burning rage while Elisabet’s conveyed something almost like disbelief. Before she had a chance to recover, Aloy suddenly lunged for the Override, once again, attempting to grip the opposite side as Elisabet and pull as hard as she could. She forced herself to ignore the ice-cold feeling of the other redhead’s hand as her fingers came into contact with it, but even pulling with as much effort as she could, the device would not come loose.  


With a growl of frustration, she lifted it from the ground before slamming the device and Elisabet’s hand back onto the floor.  


“Stop before you break something else!”  


Aloy ignored her, bashing her hand to the ground, once again. It was seeming evident that Elisabet did not feel the same pain as she would if she were a flesh-and-blood human, but Aloy was bound and determined to find out if there was a point where it would be too difficult for her to hold on, regardless. She wasn’t able to reach it, however, as something hard suddenly hit her in the side of the head a moment later and her vision swam before her. A moment later, she was suddenly shoved backward by something heavy and she found herself falling to the cold, metal floor with a groan of pain.  


“Jesus… How…? Fuck!”  


Aloy scrambled to her knees, blinking against the bright spots and blurriness that seemed to prevent the world from fully settling before her. The mass with a splash of red before her slowly take form as Elisabet, who was now sitting up, turning the Override over in her hand before her, the opposite arm seemingly hanging somewhat stiffly at her side.  


“You could have destroyed this,” she snapped, looking over at Aloy. “What were you thinking?”  


“Guess you’re right about one thing,” Aloy panted, her hands clenching into fists on her legs before her, “I don’t always think before acting.”  


Just then, she burst forward, once again, but this time she leapt to her feet, closing the gap between them in a split-second. As she reached the other redhead, however, she suddenly swung her left leg forward, aiming for Elisabet’s arm. Her foot collided with something hard and she staggered past the form of the other redhead on the ground.  


A metallic clattering also came from behind her, but as she tried to spin around, she found her balance toppling and she fell forward onto her hands and knees on the hard, metal surface. She blinked several times, attempting to settle her vision, once again, when she noticed the red, blinking light only a foot or two before her. She quickly dove forward, but another hand fell over the Override just before hers could.  


As she gripped the unnaturally cold hand, she looked up to find Elisabet lying on her stomach, her good arm outstretched to grab the Override. Their eyes locked for several long moments before the sound of another voice prompted Aloy’s to glance just past her. A shape stood in the doorway to the hallway they had exited, but the exact features were hard to make out at that exact moment.  


“By the sun, what is going on?”  


Elisabet’s eyes widened and she turned to look back over her shoulder, presenting a split-second opportunity that Aloy took full advantage of. Before the other redhead could look back, she reached forward with her other hand, gripping the end of the Override that Elisabet’s hand was not touching just as she slid her other hand onto the redhead’s wrist. Just as the other woman began to turn back to her, she pulled each hand in opposite directions. The force and surprise of the motion was enough that it seemed Elisabet wasn’t able to hold on as tightly as before, and the Override suddenly came free in Aloy’s left hand.  


She quickly pulled it back toward herself, tucking it tightly beneath her chest as she yanked her other arm back, as well, bracing it underneath her right shoulder. With the device securely held beneath her, she glanced back toward the door, once again, to find Talanah and Erend standing in it, expressions somewhere between confusion, shock, and disbelief on their faces.  


“I’m sorry, we’re just having a little bit of a—disagreement,” Elisabet said, keeping her eyes locked on Aloy.  


“You could say that,” the huntress replied, turning her attention back to the battered redhead before her.  


“I… Erend wasn’t making any sense, but now… I don’t think reality is any better…”  


“Aloy… what are you going to do with the Override?” Elisabet sighed, pushing herself to a kneeling position with her good arm.  


“I don’t know, yet, but at least keep it from you, it seems.”  


“Wait… why?” Talanah interjected.  


“Exactly,” Elisabet said, throwing her good arm into the air exasperatedly. “Aloy, I didn’t mean to hurt you—emotionally or physically, at this point—and I’m sorry, but… you’re not making this easy for anyone, including yourself.”  


“Neither are you.”  


Elisabet sighed, giving her a hard look.  


“Aloy, let’s talk about this.”  


“I’m done talking about it.”  


“So… what now, then?”  


“We leave it there for now, and you stop trying to take this from me,” she shot back, keeping the Override held tightly to her chest, even as she rose to a kneeling position, as well.  


Elisabet sighed, hanging her head.  


“Really, Aloy? You’re acting like a child.”  


Her jaw clenched even tighter as the other redhead looked back up at her.  


“I designed an entire working system of AIs that helped bring the fucking world back from the dead, and you think I don’t know what I’m doing with just one of them?”  


She continued to glare back at her for several moments, but it seemed Elisabet’s question may have been less rhetorical than it first seemed.  


“I think maybe you’re not quite the same person who did those things.”  


All sound suddenly seemed to have been removed from the world as the two redheads met each other’s glares, each one refusing to back down. Finally, Elisabet spoke, her voice barely louder than a whisper, but easily discernable in the void they currently seemed to be left in.  


“Do you really think that, Aloy?”  


The huntress remained silent, her chest heaving with each panting breath she took. Suddenly, the other redhead began to rise to her feet, and Aloy quickly scrambled to do so, as well.  


“What are you accusing me of, exactly, Aloy?”  


Elisabet began to stalk toward the huntress as she backpedaled, trying to maintain the distance between them, but she nearly tripped over a large rock on the ground and the other redhead quickly closed the gap between.  


“Who do you think I am, then?!”  


Elisabet suddenly reached Aloy and grabbed the collar of her tunic with her good hand, prompting the huntress to try to twist away, but it did little use.  


“Answer me!”  


In the blink of an eye, before she could even think what she was doing, she reached up with her free hand and placed her hand on the side of Elisabet’s head, shoving her to the left. The other redhead stumbled, but a moment later, caught herself on the railing looking over the deep chasm beside them. A metallic popping sounded and she jumped slightly, stepping back from the edge as Aloy noted that part of the railing, a thin metal pipe, had come loose from its support column and was hanging precariously in the air.  


“Aloy… this needs to stop,” she said, turning back to the huntress. “Did you see what you almost just did?”  


She nodded slowly and Elisabet hesitated, an unreadable expression crossing her face.  


“That was your intention…?”  


Aloy’s jaw clenched as she shifted her stance slightly, the metal of the override growing slick in her palm.  


“Aloy… who do you think I am?”  


“Not the person I did at first.”  


Elisabet’s eyes widened as Aloy suddenly looked over her shoulder toward the doorway they had left behind several yards away.  


“Talanah, catch!”  


She suddenly tossed the Override to her right hand before heaving a strong throw over Elisabet’s head, well out of her reach. The Carja huntress jumped in surprise, but quickly leaned forward and caught the device as it fell a foot or two before her. Elisabet glanced back at the other girl before turning back to Aloy just in time to see her step forward and shove her backward.  


Elisabet staggered on her feet for several steps, her ability to keep her balance relatively hindered by her inability to fully move one of her arms, but she managed to stay upright after a few seconds. As she was still trying to recover, however, Aloy quickly stepped over to the railing, grabbing the loose piece of piping and pulling on it as hard as she could. It didn’t immediately come loose, but after a few moments of struggle, and a loud metallic clang, she managed to pull the piece of railing loose, swinging it around much like her spear before holding it in both hands before her.  


The other redhead finally regained her balance and looked back toward the source of the noise before freezing in place, staring down at the improvised weapon in the huntress’s hands.  


“Aloy…”  


“Now you can answer _me_ ,” she spat. “Who—are—you—really?”  


“I told you—”  


Aloy suddenly swung the piece of piping at the intact section of railing beside her with a loud clang that caused the other redhead to jump in surprise.  


“Answer me, _now_!” she shouted. “I know what you’ve said before, but after tonight, I need to hear the truth from you—right here, right now.”  


The other redhead stared back at her incredulously for several long moments before shaking her head slowly.  


“I’m Elisabet Sobeck, we—”  


“If you are, then you and I both know there’s more to that answer than a name,” Aloy interrupted. “Which—one?”  


Confusion creased the other redhead’s face before she slowly began to shake her head.  


“You’re not making any sense…”  


“Answer me!”  


“I’m done with this.”  


The other redhead suddenly turned on her heel, beginning to stalk toward Talanah and Erend, who suddenly jumped in surprise.  


“Talanah, please, give me the—”  


Before she could finish her request, Aloy suddenly charged forward, raising the piece of piping over her right shoulder before swinging it with both hands. The weapon hit Elisabet in the side of the head, sending her staggering against the railing, once again, but this time she wasn’t able to catch herself and instead fell to the ground. She rolled onto her back just as Aloy stood over her.  


“I think you and I both know who you really are,” the huntress spat.  


“Aloy, stop! This is insane!”  


The huntress’s grip tightened around the weapon, once again, before she suddenly swung it with as much force as she had the first time, the piping catching the downed redhead in the opposite side of the head with a loud clang that sent a painful vibration shooting up the metal shaft in Aloy’s hands. Elisabet sat still, her head turned to one side, for several long moments before she slowly turned to look back up at Aloy.  


The sight of the woman below her now caused her to freeze for a moment, the feeling of ice pouring through her veins taking over her entire body. The blow to the side of the other woman’s head had apparently broken the skin layer, revealing some of the metal of the servitor bot beneath. In addition, it appeared to have damaged portion of her left eye, which now showed some of the exposed machine beneath, flickering with small bolts of blue electricity between the broken components.  


“Aloy… if you do that one more time…”  


“You don’t tell me what to do.”  


With that, she wound up her swing and delivered another strong blow to the side of the damaged look-alike bot’s head. The body fell to one side, sounds not unlike those of the larger machines outside when they were destroyed came from the bot as it fell still. Aloy continued to stare down at the body for several long moments, breathing heavily, before she forced herself to take a single, slow breath in through her nose. As she let it out through her mouth, her fingers uncurled from around the piece of metal piping and it clattered to the floor at her feet.  


She slowly turned back to the doorway, where Talanah and Erend stood in stunned silence, both of their faces pale and their eyes wide. Just as she began to take a step toward them, her Focus came to life, a firm voice suddenly sounding in her ear.  


“I tried to warn you, Aloy,” Elisabet snapped. “I tried to get you to understand me, but you refuse to listen.”  


The huntress clenched her jaw and came to a stop, but said nothing.  


“I’m done trying to explain everything. It looks like I’m just going to have to show you.”  


Confusion creased her face for a moment before the door just in front of Talanah and Erin suddenly came to life, slamming closed before either of them could react. The holographic lock in the center immediately turned red, but Aloy still rushed to it, skidding to a halt before the lock and pounding her fist on the metal portal.  


“Talanah! Erend! Can you open the door?”  


A muffled voice and pounding came from the other side, and Aloy cursed loudly, delivering a final kick to the metal surface before backing away from the door.  


“Too thick to—”  


“Caution, atmosphere venting pending. Please make your way to designated safe areas.”  


Aloy froze at the sound of the overly synthetic voice that suddenly rang throughout the cavernous main room of the facility, the echoes still continuing even several long seconds after it had spoken.  


“No… no, no, no, no, no!”  


“Caution, atmosphere venting in 3… 2… 1…”  


Aloy’s eyes widened as she quickly sucked in a deep breath just before a loud rushing filled her ears and she felt a strong breeze tugging at her clothing. The gust of air seemed to be pulling up and toward the center of the room, but she didn’t need to look toward the ceiling to understand what was happening. Images of mummified corpses and translucent, blue-purple people gasping and choking for air flashed before her as she desperately tried to cling to the remnants of air that remained in her lungs, even as her heart rate skyrocketed and burned through them even faster than normal.  


She whirled around, searching for some other way out of the main room, but every door she could see bore the same glowing red lock.  


She was trapped.  


Trapped in a room rapidly losing air.  


Finally, her body refused to hold her breath in any longer, and she exhaled, only for the inhale to reveal not the normal relief from the burning in her lungs, but nothing at all. Her chest heaved as she frantically gasped for something that didn’t exist, the edges of her vision quickly growing dark. A moment later, her knees gave out and she fell to the floor, barely managing to catch herself on her hands and knees before her arms refused to cooperate, as well, and she fell toward the floor.  


Aloy was just aware enough to feel the cold metal beneath her for several seconds, before she took one final, gasping attempt for air, and the world disappeared into a silent, dark void.


	24. The Real Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Monday, everybody.
> 
> Oh, also happy holidays, whichever those might be for you, and all that jazz.
> 
> So I have kind of a big Christmas/Chanukah/Kwanzaa/Festivus/etc. present for y'all this week.
> 
> This is, for all intents and purposes, the final, big, climatic chapter in _Singularity_ , and it's an absolute monster.
> 
> Clocking in at just over 11,000 words, I think this is the longest chapter I've ever posted in any fic to date, but there was a lot that we had to wrap up.
> 
> Why the push to fit it all into one chapter, instead of multiple?
> 
> Well, because structured this way, the story will be complete just inside the end of the new year.
> 
> There's one more chapter after this one, but it will be much more of a falling action/epilogue style one. It will, however, bring everything to a close just before 2020.
> 
> So yeah, I don't want to spend too much time up here in the note, since the chapter is so ungodly long, but I did want to take a moment to say thank you to everyone who's been following along on this crazy ride, whether all the way from _Duality_ or from somewhere along the way. I never expected to get anywhere near the response that I have, and it has seriously made Mondays something I look forward to every week, with the thought of sharing something with people who respond and are invested in the story as much as I am.
> 
> Seriously, there have been times where I've wanted to stop for a while, or even just tell myself to postpone actually posting something, but I've told myself that I had to soldier on because I didn't want to let anyone down.
> 
> Whether that's good or bad is up for debate, but it has pushed me to actually see this crazy, enormous project through to completion.
> 
> Anyhoo, I'll end this note there for now; there's 11,000 more words below to go.
> 
> Enjoy the final part of the climax to _Singularity_.

A brightly-lit field with an ancient house or perhaps a snow-covered clearing with a hand-made log cabin refused to materialize after what felt like hours, leaving Aloy suspended in silence, but she found herself realizing that something had changed. The pain in her chest from her burning lungs no longer beset her, but she still couldn’t feel her limbs, let alone move them.  


For all intents and purposes, it almost seemed as if she were a floating head in this strange place.  


“ _Is this it_?”  


Just as the thought crossed her mind, distant, muffled sounds began to reach her ears, and she clung to each one of them, desperately using each tiny murmur to try to drag herself toward it. With each passing second, the sounds grew louder, and she soon found feeling returning to her limbs, starting in her chest and moving outward.  


Finally, with one last, desperate mental tug toward the sounds from the world of the living, she found herself firmly back in her body, once again, along with each ache and pain that came with it. The world was still dark however, as her eyelids refused to cooperate. In the meantime, she focused on the sounds around her, trying to use them in lieu of her sight to get her bearings.  


A strange shuffling came from directly ahead of her, along with sounds somewhat like a Focus interface. Other than those, however, the only other sounds she could discern were the low humming of the lights and her own heartbeat. Finally, she drew on all of her willpower, once again, and tried to open her eyes.  


For her efforts, she soon found herself blinking slowly, revealing a bright, washed out image of the world before her. Several seconds of frantic blinking later, and everything had settled somewhat, allowing her to finally take stock of her situation.  


Confusion creased her face for a moment as her eyes slowly scanned across the front of the Control Room, taking in the large glass window, as well as the various glowing workstations just before it. She tried to adjust her position, but quickly found that something held her wrists in place. A heavy sigh escaped her as she stretched her neck and shoulders stiffly, but she quickly froze when she saw motion ahead of her.  


Something was standing before the workstations, and Aloy silently cursed herself internally for not noticing it before. The figure straightened up before turning to face her, prompting the huntress to grow stiff, her eyes widening.  


One of the Servitor bots, as she had seen them in Petra’s workshop, stood before her, seemingly staring into her eyes with its expressionless, blank ones. A moment later, her Focus activated with a synthetic chime in her ear.  


“It was the best I could do after… well… you know.”  


A moment later, a bright light seemed to envelope the Servitor bot, swirling around it somewhat like the particles of light had when GAIA had first appeared to them. As the light settled into place, however, it quickly revealed the shape it was taking, and Aloy felt her heart rate skyrocket even further.  


The image of Elisabet, looking much more like the version of herself from Zero Dawn and just barely translucent enough to make out the outline of the bot beneath her projection, frowned slightly as she looked down at the restrained huntress.  


“I’m sorry about the—tied up thing—but… well, we saw what just happened.”  


Aloy’s expression turned to a glare as she shifted stiffly against the restraints, once again.  


“Aloy, I… everything that just happened was entirely unnecessary.”  


“You mean—” Aloy began, but stopped to clear her throat against the burning, raspy sensation in it, “you mean the trying to kill me parts?”  


“You forced my hand, Aloy.”  


The huntress continued to glare back at the odd image of Elisabet as she sighed and began to pace before her, the sounds of the servitor bot’s mechanical workings and clunking, metal feet on the hard floor sending a shiver down Aloy’s spine.  


“I… I already said everything, before,” she continued, “but just like I said then, too, you just start yelling and jumping to conclusions before actually listening. If you had been this entire time, you’d know that I’m just trying to help… by finishing what I started.”  


Aloy paused, something about the last part of her sentence sending a severe chill through her body.  


“GAIA and her systems were incredible, when they were fully functioning and working together,” she continued. “They rebuilt the entire world, as you’ve known it, all simply based on what a small team of humans from a thousand years ago were able to tell them, basically. Do you know how difficult that is?”  


The Lis-bot glanced over at Aloy for a moment before letting out a heavy sigh and continuing her pacing.  


“And even then, in the end… human hubris fucked it all up.”  


The huntress shifted backward slightly, the corner of her hand brushing against something hard and prompting her to pause. She carefully slid her fingertips over it, feeling that it appeared to be a jagged edge of a rock formation behind her. Swallowing thickly, she refocused her attention on the figure before her.  


“So you’re comparing me to Ted, now?”  


“Not right now,” Elisabet said, sparing a glance in her direction and prompting Aloy to freeze still for a moment before she turned away, once again, “but you’re starting to get close.”  


Aloy paused, a fire quickly building in her chest as her teeth ground slowly and tensely.  


“No matter what I try to impress on you,” Elisabet continued, the tone of her voice growing more heated, as well, “you keep acting like an arrogant child.”  


Finally, the Lis-bot came to a stop, turning to face the huntress on the ground, once again.  


“You’re older than I was when I finished college… but you’ve still got a lot of growing up to do before you’re even close to where I was at your age.”  


The fire in her chest suddenly flared to a full inferno as her hands instinctually clenched into fists behind her.  


“You don’t get to speak as if you’re really _her_ ,” she spat.  


The image of Elisabet’s expression faltered for a moment before confusion took over.  


“You keep saying that… but what exactly are you trying to get at, Aloy?”  


“You’re not really Elisabet, no matter how much you say it,” she continued. “I’ve figured you out.”  


The image of Elisabet shook her head as the bot took several steps closer, looming over Aloy.  


“And who am I, then?”  


Aloy’s jaw worked tensely for several moments before she took a deep breath in through her nose.  


“Part of you may be Elisabet but HADES corrupted you.”  


The image continued to stare back at her with an unreadable expression for several long moments before she suddenly burst out laughing, tilting her head back. The barely visible outline of the servitor bot beneath the projection didn’t quite match up each motion, and a strong shiver ran down Aloy’s back, suddenly.  


“I’m sorry, but… no,” Elisabet finally said, heaving a heavy sigh. “I’m Elisabet, definitely, but… well… you may have been onto something, just… missed it right at the end.”  


Aloy continued to eye the image warily as it put its hands on its hips.  


“Maybe this will help…”  


Suddenly, the holographic image over the servitor bot shifted, changing appearance until Aloy’s eyes widened and she straightened her posture. The all-too familiar image of a young Elisabet, her hair tied back in a tight, holographic braid behind her raised her arms to either side of her, a smirk set into her features.  


“I take it you get it better, now,” she said. “Still Elisabet… just not exactly the same— _version_ —that you’re used to.”  


“You…”  


“Yes, me, too,” she interrupted, laughing. “As different as you think I am from the Elisabet you knew, though, there is one thing that has always been consistent… we’re good liars.”  


“You don’t get to—”  


“I get to say whatever the fuck I want!” she snapped, cutting Aloy off. “Just like you, there’s a part of me, of ever Elisabet it seems, that you try to bury deep down… the part that you don’t want to admit exists. You aren’t as good at keeping it at bay, at times… like when you killed Olin… and Helis. You can say that death is unnecessary, and that you’re doing all you can to ‘serve life’, but a part of you knows… that’s not always true.  


“Part of you feels that sometimes… it’s necessary… that some people deserve it.”  


The image of the younger Elisabet stepped closer, still staring down at Aloy with a devilish smirk.  


“You can’t help it, though… it’s in your nature.”  


Aloy suddenly kicked out toward the servitor bot, but it was still too far away for her foot to make contact, and the image simply took another step or two away, laughing.  


“There’s that Sobeck spirit.”  


Aloy opened her mouth to utter a fiery retort, but stopped herself at the last second before taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly.  


“So… your plan is to kill me?”  


“No,” the image said, looking somewhat surprised by the question, “of course not. I need you… _we_ need you.”  


“We?”  


“We the people of the world,” she replied, raising her arms and spinning in place to indicate everything around her. “Without you and the ability to easily access all of these facilities… there’s no hope to rebuild.”  


Aloy paused, her heart rate skyrocketing as the young Elisabet’s last thought echoed around her head.  


“Rebuild… from what?”  


The image sighed, placing her hands on her hips as she hung her head tiredly.  


“There is so much about this world that is… not what I wanted for it,” she began softly, “and at this point, to repair it all, to bring the Earth fully back to life, the way it once was… well, some sacrifices are going to have to be made.”  


Aloy’s heart seemed to come to a stop for several beats before she swallowed thickly and forced herself to take a breath.  


“Destroy… rebuild…” the image continued, her odd, holographic eyes locking onto Aloy’s, “until we get it right.”  


Contrary to a moment ago, the huntress was well aware of her heart beat, as it seemed to be the only thing that filled her ears as she stared back at the partially translucent image of Elisabet before her, a grim expression fixed on the image’s features.  


“This time, someone will be here to make sure no other humans fuck it up,” the image continued, letting out a heavy sigh, “but once it’s working… we can just… put all this behind us, you know?”  


Aloy shifted her position, pressing herself slightly closer to rock formation behind her as the bot-Lis began to pace, once again, the holographic image over the servitor bot shifting back to the older image as she had looked during the time of Zero Dawn.  


“Once… once I get the other subfunctions back… _make_ them come back, if I have to… we can… we can finally start to relax a bit… almost like… like you said you wanted.”  


Aloy stiffened for a moment as she stared back at Elisabet, who had paused her pacing to look back at her, as well.  


“You know… like… like a…”  


Just then, a loud clunking sound echoed about the Control Room as the lights outside of the large, main window suddenly seemed to go out. Almost immediately, an overly synthetic voice sounded from overhead.  


“System power at 50%. Emergency systems engaged.”  


“What the fuck now?!” Elisabet growled, whirling in place, glancing out the main window for a moment before stalking over to the main console and furiously working at something on it. “Don’t tell me something just broke now…”  


Aloy shifted her position against the rock formation, moving her hands closer to the jagged edge she had felt earlier. As the edge of her palm brushed against it, she carefully position the fabric ties around her wrists near it, instead, slowly working her arms up and down while keeping her eyes firmly locked on Elisabet across the room.  


“Fine, just… reboot the system, see if that works,” the holographic redhead sighed, tapping something on the interface with an emphatic gesture.  


A moment later, the lights in the Control Room went out, leaving the glowing image of Elisabet as the only source of light for several moments, before the overhead lights returned, including those outside the large window.  


“Okay, lights are back on…”  


Aloy sped up her motions against the rock surface as she felt the rapidly fraying fabric catch and pull on the rough edges.  


“GAIA, can you see if the power outage affected any major systems?”  


Elisabet paused as Aloy slowed her motions, her heart pounding in her ears. After several long moments of near total silence, Elisabet straightened up from her position over the console across the room.  


“GAIA?”  


Deafening silence continued to follow her call, Aloy feeling her palms grow slick with cold sweat, as well.  


“No… don’t tell me…” Elisabet muttered, quickly glancing back down at the console. “ELEUTHIA, system report.”  


Silence continued to follow her command, even as she repeated several more times, each repetition growing louder and more forceful. Finally, Elisabet let out a sound somewhere between an growl and shriek as she whirled around, facing Aloy, who froze still under her burning gaze.  


“This can’t be happening…” Elisabet said, her voice much quieter. “This… everything we just worked to fix…”  


Aloy’s heart felt like it was about to beat its way out of her chest as she stared back at the holographic image over the servitor bot. For a moment, it almost seemed to shift, once again, the younger face and braided hair appearing before quickly fading back into the original image.  


“Goddammit, even when I was here this time…”  


Just as the bot-Lis began to pace, once again, a loud clanging sounded from across the room, prompting both redheads to jump in surprise, Aloy’s hands suddenly jerking backward into the rock formation, separating the last few strands of fabric holding the ties together. She paused for a moment, but quickly made sure her arms were still held behind her, as if they were still bound. A moment later, the clanging came again and her gaze settled on the door to the row of APOLLO workstations, noting how something seemed to be moving in the center of it.  


The bot-Lis also seemed to notice the motion and turned toward it, but kept her distance. A moment later, a loud, mechanical whining filled the air before the doors jerked open several inches. Both redheads jumped, once again, Elisabet even taking several steps back until she bumped into the console.  


The sounds of voices came through the opening as Aloy slowly leaned forward, trying to get a better view through the door, only for the door to suddenly jerk almost fully open a few moments later. Aloy’s eyes widened slightly as she caught sight of the two figures struggling to push the doors open. Talanah and Erend stood almost back-to-back as they dropped their spears in favor of pushing on the doors with their bare hands. A moment later, they seemed to finally force the doors fully open, leaning against them for a second or two before letting out heavy sighs and releasing them.  


Aloy breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of her companions alive.  


“You figured out how to get out, I see…” Elisabet said slowly.  


“Had a little help,” Erend shot back, glancing behind him.  


Aloy leaned to the side to try to see through the doorway, catching sight of a white shirt and what appeared to be something made of leather. A small smile tugged at her lips before Elisabet suddenly let out an audible gasp, the image’s eyes widening. Confusion creased Aloy’s face as she glanced back to the door just as Erend and Talanah stepped aside, allowing a new figure to enter the room.  


“No… you didn’t…”  


Aloy’s eyes widened, as well, at the sight of the dark-skinned woman with a flowing mane of hair that fell almost halfway down her back. She was not wearing the long, brightly-colored dress as she had so many times before, but instead what appeared to be a set of Oseram Sparkworker leathers and a white shirt. What caught the huntress’s eye the most, as she stared at her, was how she bore no indication of the soft glow that the image of Elisabet exhibited.  


It truly appeared to be a real person standing in the room.  


“I did.”  


The voice sent a chill down Aloy’s spine, the fact that it wasn’t coming through her Focus somehow even greater of a shock than her appearance.  


“GAIA… h-how… why?”  


The figure sighed heavily before inclining her head slightly.  


“I used one of the remaining servitor bots,” she explained. “I had Petra, Talanah, and Erend help me.”  


Aloy blinked rapidly for several moments as she stared blankly at the figure of GAIA across the room.  


“ _How long was I out_ …?”  


“I… I can’t find you in the facility systems,” Elisabet said, her tone starting to sound panicked.  


“Because I am not there, Elisabet.”  


The holographic redhead physically recoiled as Aloy blinked in surprise.  


“N-no… you… but… I-I…”  


GAIA remained silent, but looked down at her hand as she slowly held it before her. As Aloy focused on it, she was just able to make out something small and round in the AI-turned-bot’s fingers.  


“I have transferred much of myself into this servitor bot’s main coding,” she continued, finally. “All of what you would call my personality—and my conscience—for instance.”  


“But… there’s not even traces of everything else,” Elisabet cut in.  


“Like an old metaphor come true,” GAIA continued, unperturbed, “it is held within me.”  


Confusion creased Aloy’s face as Elisabet’s eyes widened and she looked GAIA up and down.  


“You—you found a way to store all of it…”  


“With Petra’s help, this servitor contains enough additional storage units to hold all of the information originally contained on those drives,” she gestured to the small devices on the floor by Elisabet. “Right now, it is virtually inaccessible. This bot cannot be hacked or controlled by an outside source and obtain the information. One could not download any piece of me into a system… unless I say so.”  


GAIA held up the object she had been turning over in her fingers, but Aloy could still only make out that it was an orb shape from her position.  


“This globe pendant is the key—if you will—that would allow the override of those security protocols. When the time is right… it can be used to upload my data into a system’s network, as it was originally intended.”  


Elisabet took a tentative step forward before catching herself as GAIA quickly wrapped her fingers around the globe and held it tightly to her chest.  


“B-but… GAIA… this…”  


The former AI’s face was unreadable as she waited patiently for the distraught redhead to continue.  


“This isn’t what I wanted,” Elisabet finally finished, her tone almost pleading, “for any of this! This… we were supposed to work together!”  


GAIA closed her eyes, bowing her head slightly as the partially holographic Elisabet continued to grow more distraught.  


“You had the idea to… to make me like this!” she continued. “I’m… I’m not like you! I… I designed you but… I can’t run this whole system by myself!”  


The former AI still remained silent as the Lis-bot suddenly stamped her foot, the clang of the metal appendage on the floor echoing about the room and causing everyone else to jump in surprise.  


“Goddammit, say something, GAIA!”  


Elisabet’s voice was just about at a shriek, but the woman across from her still took her time, taking a pause to breathe slowly before focusing her gaze on the redhead across from her.  


“I wanted Elisabet… _my_ Elisabet back… but sometimes I suppose we don’t get what we want.”  


The semi-holographic redhead recoiled as if she had been physically struck, while everyone else in the room seemed to draw in a collective breath, holding it as they waited for whatever she did next. Slowly, the image’s expression contorted from one of shock to one of pure anger as her hands curled into fists at her sides.  


“So…”  


Before she even fully realized what was happening, Aloy found herself being dragged from the floor by the front of her tunic, her feet scrambling for purchase beneath her even as Elisabet continued to pull her toward the others.  


“Is this who you want instead? Huh? Your Lis 2.0?”  


GAIA’s expression registered concern as she glanced to Aloy for a moment, quickly turning back to Elisabet a second later. Before the former AI could utter a single word, however, the red-haired huntress suddenly pulled her arms from behind her, letting the last remnants of the cloth ties that had held her wrists minutes ago fall away. She quickly grabbed the cold, metal arm of the bot, her fingers sinking through the holographic image of Elisabet’s jacket, and quickly tugged downward on it.  


The motion was enough of a surprise that Elisabet momentarily released her vice-grip on the leather tunic, allowing Aloy to quickly slip behind her and grab her by the shoulders. With a cry of exertion, she threw the servitor bot as hard as she could to her right. Elisabet staggered for several steps before slamming into one of the consoles beside the one she had been using earlier, catching herself on it before she could fully slide to the floor.  


They locked eyes, once again, before the image of Elisabet let out a rage-fueled cry of her own, pushing off the console and charging toward Aloy. She was unable to move fast enough to fully escape her, and the cold arm of the servitor bot wrapped around her chest before forcing her backward until she slammed into a wall with a loud gasp as the air exploded from her lungs. The edges of her vision grew dark as the pounding of her heartbeat swelled to fill her ears, blocking out all other sounds for several moments.  


Just as she began to come to her senses, she saw the holographic Elisabet with her right fist drawn back, an expression of absolute fury etched into her features. Just before she could deliver the blow, however, something crashed into the bot, pulling her away from Aloy. She took the moment to try to regain her breath some more before refocusing on the loud sounds of the scuffle from nearby.  


Talanah stood between Aloy and Elisabet, both hands placed before Elisabet’s fist as she had clearly tried to take a swing at her. The Carja huntress had managed to stop the blow, but it seemed to be taking almost all of her strength to hold the bot’s arm back. Almost immediately, Aloy burst into motion, charging forward and slamming into Elisabet with her full body weight, throwing her off balance and pulling her arm away from Talanah.  


As the mechanical redhead regained her footing, she turned back to the two huntresses, her eyes slowly moving between Talanah and Aloy.  


“Talanah, my disagreement here is with Aloy, not you.”  


“After you tried to kill her?” the Carja huntress shot back, remaining where she was beside Aloy. “It’s my problem now, too.”  


Aloy didn’t want to spare a glance over at her, just in case, but the pale expression that had overtaken the holographic image of Elisabet told her everything she needed to know.  


“Talanah… you’re smarter than this… after everything you’ve seen…”  


“Everything I’ve seen is that I was lied to,” she interjected. “I don’t know what I can believe of any of it, anymore. There’s one thing I’m still pretty sure of, though: I was used… and so was Aloy.”  


The image of Elisabet’s expression quickly began to change from pale disbelief to a tense anger as she straightened up, clenching her fists at her sides.  


“I see we’re choosing sides, then. Fine.”  


Just then, she lunged forward, reaching toward Aloy. The redhead quickly sidestepped her, and Talanah instead went to grab Elisabet’s other arm, only to suddenly be thrown aside with a good amount of force. Aloy glanced past the bot toward the crashing sounds that must have come from Talanah, but a moment later she suddenly found a hand gripping her tunic with a strength like the jaws of a Snapmaw.  


Her gaze turned back to Elisabet as she tried to shove the cold, metal arm away, but her efforts were easily rebuked. A moment later, something hard and cold clasped around her neck and Aloy let out a strange gurgling sound, eyes shooting wide open as she realized that air was not reaching her lungs, once again. She continued to swipe and tug at the bot’s arms, but it did little good, and her motions quickly began to grow weaker and weaker.  


As her resistance faded, Elisabet dragged her even closer, until their eyes were only inches apart.  


“You’re not much like the real me, anyway.”  


Just as the grip around her neck began to grow even stronger, the sound of something whistling through the air came from somewhere behind Elisabet. A moment later, a loud, metallic crunch split the air, followed shortly after by an electrical crackling. Elisabet’s grip weakened as she staggered, but still maintained a strong hold on the huntress.  


The edges of Aloy’s vision had grown dark moments ago, but now it was moving dangerously close to the center, leaving only Elisabet’s softly glowing face in her field of view. The holographic redhead was looking away from her, presumably toward whatever had just hit her, but a moment later her head snapped back and the vice grip around Aloy’s neck finally disappeared.  


Her knees immediately buckled and she fell to the floor, her arms not having enough strength to catch herself, either. A great, wheezing gasp escaped her as she slammed into the hard surface, the rush of air down her throat burning the entire time, but it was nowhere near the pain in her lungs.  


She continued to pant and wheeze as she tried to force her arms under herself, and although they followed her commands, they didn’t have nearly enough strength to actually follow through, and she slumped back to the floor. Quickly deciding that getting up wasn’t going to happen right then, she forced herself to roll onto her side, tilting her head back to try to see what was happening around her.  


The blurry, but brightly glowing image a yard or so away had to be Elisabet, but the dark shape she seemed to be grappling with was impossible to fully detail in her current state. After several seconds of blinking furiously in attempts to clear the blurriness, she was able to make out the general shape and size of the other figure.  


“Er—Erend…”  


The sounds of whatever scuffle was occurring seemed oddly muted in her ears, almost entirely drowned out by the pounding of her own heartbeat. Finally, though, her vision began to clear and she could feel the tingling in her extremities beginning to fade. She curled her fingers into a fist and felt a more familiar strength in her grip.  


“Just… just gotta…”  


“ _Get up!_ ”  


With her jaw firmly clenched, she rolled onto her stomach, bracing her hands beneath her and forcing herself off the ground. As she rose to her knees, she glanced up to the sound of a loud cracking. She quickly looked to the figure she was sure had been Erend moments ago to find him recoiling from the glowing Elisabet. At first, fear that the sound had been a bone snapping shot through her, but a moment later she quickly realized what it was as Elisabet suddenly held something before her: half of Erend’s hammer.  


She slowly began to advance toward him, dragging her left foot slightly behind her, as it seemed partially inoperable.  


Aloy’s heartbeat skyrocketed, once again, as she forced herself to her feet, staggering to her right unsteadily as she held her arms out, trying to regain her balance. Once she was standing steadily enough that she didn’t feel like she had to constantly focus on not falling over, she glanced up at the scene before her, only for her eyes to widen.  


Elisabet had backed Erend against the wall and was currently raising the half of his Oseram hammer that she had taken over her head.  


“Aloy! Catch!”  


She jumped in surprise, glancing to her right just in time to see something long and narrow flying through the air toward her. Instinctually, her right hand shot up and wrapped around whatever the item was, bringing it to a halt before it could hit her. As she held it before her, focusing more carefully on the object, she quickly recognized her spear, the red and blue ribbons near the tip hanging slightly more loose than normal, but it still seemed secure enough to be effective.  


With her jaw clenched, she spun the weapon in her hands before blindly charging forward. The world seemed to slow around her as she carefully adjusted the wickedly sharp tip of the spear blade, her eyes focused on a singular target.  


Three more steps, and she gripped the spear shaft even more tightly.  


One more step, and she drew it back in preparation.  


One last step, and she planted her left foot before her, thrusting the spear shaft forward.  


The world seemed to lurch back to normal speed as her spear found its mark, jerking to a sudden halt with the sound of tearing metal and sparking electricity.  


She remained still, gripping her spear tightly as her chest heaved, her eyes still locked on where her spear had hit its mark.  


Finally, with one last deep breath, she yanked it backward, pulling it loose to another chorus of metallic crunching and electrical sparking.  


She staggered back a step or two before forcing herself to stop, holding her spear loosely beside her.  


The entire room had gone silent as the figure of Elisabet slowly began to turn from Erend, the Oseram hammer falling harmlessly behind her. Her motions were slow and halting, aided by her already damaged leg. Just as she had almost completely turned to face Aloy, she staggered and nearly fell to the floor, but only just managed to recover at the last second.  


When she rose to an almost full standing position, once again, Aloy finally saw the aftermath of her attack.  


A somewhat small, but jaggedly-shaped hole gaped in the left side of the servitor bot’s chest, even as the holographic image of Elisabet showed no actual signs of an injury, although the projection was beginning to flicker.  


“What… what did you do… do that for?”  


Elisabet suddenly staggered, once again, but was unable to catch herself and fell to her hands and knees. The holographic image flickered more obviously, disappearing entirely for a moment or two and leaving the strange, almost featureless servitor bot on full view, once again.  


“You forced my hand,” Aloy panted. “You almost killed me… almost killed Erend… Talanah…”  


“I… you…”  


The bot suddenly seemed to seize up even more and fell to the floor in a heap with a loud, metallic clang. It lay still for several moments before the holographic image finally flickered out of existence. A deafening silence filled the room for several moments before Aloy’s Focus suddenly came to life, revealing a partially transparent figure only a foot or so away from the servitor bot.  


The image of Elisabet was staring down at it, chest heaving, but quickly turned to look back at Aloy.  


“You almost destroyed it…”  


The huntress continued to stare back at Elisabet with her jaw clenched, her fingers tightening around the spear once again.  


“We can’t have you following us out,” she finally said, her voice barely louder than a hoarse whisper.  


Elisabet slowly began to shake her head, her hands clenching into fists at her sides.  


“You can’t leave,” she said. “You can’t leave me here. Not without GAIA.”  


“Elisabet—”  


“I won’t let you,” she interjected, her head whipping back and forth between the huntress and the former AI. “I won’t let you open the main door. I-I won’t let you out of this room!”  


Aloy turned to GAIA, their eyes locking for several long moments before the former AI nodded to her slowly. With a deep breath, the redhead slowly turned back to the image of Elisabet, lifting her chin slightly.  


“Override control of ELEUTHIA facility, protocol one. Authorization: Elisabet Sobeck, Alpha Prime.”  


The image of Elisabet’s eyes widened as an overly synthetic voice suddenly echoed throughout the room.  


“Voice authorization received. Protocol One active. Facility systems under lockdown until all clear is given. When ready, please proceed to facility entrance to perform bio-scan and voice authorization.”  


“No… no… no, no, no…” Elisabet began to mutter, her eyes glazing over as she seemed lost in thought for a moment. “I… I can’t access anything outside of this facility… the door controls aren’t responding…”  


The image of the redhead blinked rapidly, her gaze clearing as she focused on Aloy, once again, her expression incredibly pale.  


“No… you… you can’t… please don’t do this to me!”  


Aloy’s jaw clenched resolutely as she stared back at the image, slowly approaching her without breaking eye contact. When she was only a foot or so away, she came to a stop, taking a deep breath in through her nose.  


“You’re nothing like the real me.”  


The image’s eyes widened as Aloy turned away from her, finally, moving over to Erend.  


“You okay?”  


He stared back at her with a look somewhere between shock and disbelief on his face for several moments before he finally seemed to register that she had spoken to him.  


“Y-yeah, fine, just a couple of bruises… broke my hammer.”  


Aloy nodded before quickly turning and heading around the image of Elisabet to the other side of the Control Room. She quickly scanned the ground until she spotted Talanah on the floor by the empty row of desks in the center of the space. The huntress hurried over to her, dropping to a crouch, even as the Carja watched her approach with an unreadable expression.  


“Are you hurt?”  


Talanah remained silent for several long moments before clearing her throat.  


“Nothing serious.”  


“You sure?”  


She nodded.  


Aloy breathed a sigh of relief, hanging her head for a moment before looking back up at the Carja huntress.  


“You scared the shit out of me… again.”  


Several long moments passed before Talanah’s lips slowly began to pull back in a grin.  


“Guess that’s just how I am.”  


Aloy shook her head before rising to her feet and offering a hand to her. The Carja took it with a firm grip and dragged herself to her feet, immediately wincing and gingerly placing her hand over her abdomen.  


“Yeah, that’s not going to do good things for my bruises,” she muttered.  


Aloy smirked before glancing back at the others in the room.  


“Come on… there’s nothing more for us to do here.”  


The image of Elisabet continued to plead with Aloy, following her across the room, even as the redhead ignored her and calmly began to gather the drives from the console near the large window and place them back into the bags they had used to carry them into the facility, weeks ago. Slowly, the pleading and beseeching began to give way to open berating and cursing, until finally Aloy turned back to the holographic image.  


“Who the fuck do you think you are, you little cunt?!” the image of Elisabet finished, her tone almost a shriek.  


Aloy studied her for a moment or two before smirking slightly.  


“Aloy Sobeck.”  


An unreadable expression passed over the image’s face as Aloy stepped through her, making her way toward the others by the door out of the control room. She glanced around at the variety of expressions, Erend still seeming awestruck, Talanah wearing a half-smirk, Petra regarding her with some form of a thoughtful expression, and GAIA offering a familiar, gentle smile.  


“We’ve still gotta get our stuff. C’mon.”  


The trip down to the living quarters passed in total silence, standing in stark contrast to the moments before, to the point where it almost seemed unnaturally quiet. The usual soft, background hum of the lights and other systems in the facility seemed to have disappeared, even as they continued to shine brightly overhead.  


Once they reached the living quarters, Aloy quickly packed her things back into their travel containers and affixed them to her person. She moved to exit the room without another glance, but something made her pause at the last moment, stopping with one hand outstretched toward the holographic lock. With a sigh, she turned back to the room, glancing around at the empty, abandoned space.  


“Not the future any of us wanted…”  


With a sigh, she finally turned back to the door, twisting the lock.  


“But maybe we can make this work.”  


As she entered the hallway, once again, she found Erend, Petra, and GAIA waiting for her, already, at the far end, although Talanah was still missing. With a frown, Aloy made her way over to the Carja’s door, raising her fist to knock, only for the metal portal to slide aside as she did. Talanah was already mid-step, and unable to stop herself, it seemed, as she suddenly ran straight into Aloy, prompting both of them to jump back and let out shouts of surprise.  


They stared back at each other for a moment or two with wide eyes before they both began to laugh.  


“By the sun, you could warn a girl, first.”  


“I was trying to knock.”  


Talanah rolled her eyes dramatically, but smirked as she stepped out of the room, Aloy moving aside to avoid moment from happening, once again.  


As they rejoined the others at the doorway back into the main room of the facility, Aloy glanced around, her lips pulling into a thin line as she leaned in toward GAIA.  


“Has she been back around?”  


“I am completely removed from the system,” GAIA shrugged. “I have not seen her, but I know no more than you.”  


Aloy nodded slowly before letting out a heavy sigh.  


“All right, let’s head up.”  


The walk back to the top floor of the facility was just as silent as the descent had been, allowing Aloy to focus on the sound of each footstep as they marched up the metal steps and onto the main walkway. She spared a quick glance toward the large window to the control room, but no glowing figure appeared in it, so she turned back to the walkway ahead of her, instead.  


When they finally stepped through the smaller doorway into the main entryway, however, her Focus came to life. The image of Elisabet stood in the center of the space, her hands working tensely before her.  


“I don’t suppose there’s any reason to try pleading with you one last time, is there?”  


Aloy’s jaw clenched as she stepped past the image, approaching the door control. With an emphatic twist, she turned the holographic lock, the circle quickly spinning and turning green. The door’s mechanisms slowly came to life, a rapidly growing hole soon forming in the center as the door began to slide open in its typical triangular pattern.  


Moments later, it had opened fully, allowing the small group to pass. Talanah and Erend led the way through the opening, followed soon after by Petra, who paused as she glanced toward Aloy, almost as if she were about to say something, but she eventually seemed to think better of it and turned to follow the others. GAIA stepped into the doorway after her, but gave one last look back toward the image of Elisabet in the center of the room. After a moment or two, she ultimately turned without saying anything else and followed the others outside.  


Aloy stepped into the center of the doorway, but turned back to the softly glowing image of the redhead behind her. They locked eyes, and for a moment she saw the same woman that had stood in the odd, brightly-lit field all those months ago.  


“So I guess this is goodbye.”  


Aloy nodded slowly, taking a deep breath in through her nose before turning to follow the rest of her group out of the large doorway.  


“For what it’s worth,” Elisabet called after her, prompting Aloy to stop, but not turn around, “I’m sorry.”  


The redhead stared at the ground several feet ahead of her for several moments before clenching her jaw and continuing onward, stepping out onto the large, metal plate before the door. As soon as she had cleared the opening, the large sections began to slide closed, eventually sealing shut with a resounding, heavy clunk. Aloy’s paced slowed almost immediately as she approached the short set of stairs, already dreading the questions she could clearly see etched into the faces of her companions waiting for her.  


Finally, when she came to a stop before them, they were no longer able to hold back.  


“Aloy, what just happened?” Petra asked.  


“How did you know about that… protocol thing?” Erend chimed in.  


“Why did you call yourself Aloy Sobeck just then?” Talanah added.  


Aloy raised her hands defensively before her.  


“Hold on… one thing at a time…” she sighed. “I… a lot just happened… even for me, but… the only thing I can say is that… it was just… instinct.”  


The confusion on each of their faces only deepened as Aloy let her hands fall to her sides, taking a deep breath.  


“I don’t know exactly where the knowledge of that protocol came from, but… I think… it might be from Elisabet.”  


“Wait, what?” Erend interrupted. “I thought…”  


Aloy held up one hand, raising her eyebrows slightly as a smirk tugged at her lips.  


“Hold on,” she said. “I think the easiest way to sum it up is to answer Talanah’s question.”  


She glanced to the Carja huntress, whose eyebrows had suddenly raised in anticipation.  


“I’m Aloy Sobeck because… well, I both belong here… and I’m a thousand years out of time.”  


Talanah didn’t seem any more satisfied by that answer, so the redhead continued.  


“Deep down… there’s some part of me that still is, and always will be, Elisabet Sobeck. I mean… you all know now where I came from—how I came to be… so that’s somewhat unavoidable, but… it’s not just… that I look like her… you know?”  


They all slowly shook their heads and Aloy let out an exasperated sigh, placing her hands on her hips as she began to pace slowly before them.  


“When GAIA—did her thing—to try to separate ‘Elisabet’ and ‘Aloy,’ it didn’t truly _split_ the two. Clearly it took some piece that looks and acts mostly like Elisabet, but… in the end… I think it was just a copy… a copy that took some more of the flaws than anyone knew existed.”  


Silence fell over the group for several long moments before Petra blinked rapidly and shook her head.  


“Sorry, I think you lost me.”  


Aloy frowned as she came to a stop before them.  


“I-I don’t really know how to explain it except… I’m Aloy, but a part of me is—and probably always will be—Elisabet, too… and _she_ is an attempt to copy what makes up ‘Elisabet’ but… well, nothing’s perfect.”  


Aloy glanced to GAIA, who simply offered a small smile and an encouraging nod.  


“The technology and procedure that I used,” she suddenly chimed in, bringing the rest of the group’s attention to her, as well, “was not extensively tested, even a thousand years ago. It is more than likely that it is not a precise process, anyway, but… on some level it was successful.”  


“How so?” Erend chimed in. “She just tried to kill almost all of us.”  


“But the woman you see before you now, you would not say she is exactly the same as when you entered the facility, no?”  


They all glanced back at Aloy, who shifted uncomfortably under their gazes.  


“This is all too… insane,” Petra sighed, pointing toward Aloy. “You’re paying my tab when we get wherever it is we’re going, next.”  


Aloy stared back at her for a moment or two in confusion before blinked in surprise, raising her eyebrows.  


“Next?”  


“Well, yeah,” the Oseram laughed. “We didn’t exactly accomplish everything we came here for, now, did we?”  


Aloy glanced between the other three with the look of surprise still etched into her face.  


“Even… even after all that… you’re all…?”  


“Well, I mean… I’d request a break first, but we said we’d help you get this thing working, again,” Erend shot back, grinning. “I can’t necessarily speak for these two… but my word’s my word.”  


Talanah and Petra both punched him in the shoulders as he recoiled, rubbing at the spots where they had made contact absentmindedly.  


“What?”  


Talanah rolled her eyes but turned back to Aloy.  


“You still owe me APOLLO, so you bet I’m in.”  


Aloy turned to Petra to see her flashing a devilish smirk.  


“You can’t tempt me with the best machine build in the world and just leave me hanging, Flame Hair.”  


After several more moments of looking between them in disbelief, Aloy let out a short laugh, shaking her head.  


“Okay then.”  


They all let out a round of laughter before turning and beginning to make their way toward the exit out of the mountain.  


“We’re going to need a new central point to start getting all these things working, though,” Aloy suddenly chimed in, patting the side of one of the bags containing the drives.  


“There’s plenty of abandoned ruins lying around,” Petra shrugged. “One of them is bound to work.”  


Aloy nodded slowly, her lips scrunching to one side as her eyes glazed over in thought.  


“Plus, we’ve got GAIA to help find one, right?”  


Petra nudged the former AI beside her playfully, and she laughed, but Aloy quickly picked up on the hesitation in it and came to a sudden stop.  


“GAIA, what’s wrong?”  


The others came to a sudden halt, as well, confusion etched into their faces as they glanced between the huntress and the AI.  


“I… have made a decision,” she said slowly. “You have all proven how capable you are—and I trust you all to continue to excel.”  


“GAIA…” Aloy began, stepping closer, but the former AI raised her hand to stop her.  


“You do not need me for this part of your journey,” she continued, “and there is much I wish to see… to explore. I… a version of me helped create this world… and I would like to become reacquainted with it.”  


The redhead’s heart sank into her stomach as her jaw clenched tightly. GAIA seemed to notice her reaction and stepped closer to her.  


“Aloy, do not be so worried,” she said softly. “I have every confidence in you.”  


“But… we just brought you back…”  


GAIA’s lips pulled back in a small smile as she stepped closer, raising one hand toward Aloy’s cheek before hesitating at the last moment. Both of them seemed frozen for several long seconds before the huntress finally closed the gap, turning her face into the AI’s hand.  


Her touch was still cold, like the servitor bot version of Elisabet’s had been, but something in the lightness of the gesture gave it an entirely different feeling. A shiver ran down Aloy’s spine as GAIA’s thumb slowly slid across her cheek.  


“I will not be gone forever,” she said softly. “We will see each other again. In the end… I will always be here, when you need me.”  


Aloy tried to make a sound in agreement, but it came out more like a whimper and she quickly squeezed her eyes closed.  


“Aloy…”  


GAIA’s hand slid from her face, only for the feeling of a strong pair of arms wrapping around the huntress to appear a moment later. Aloy almost instinctually found herself pressing forward, wrapping her arms around the unnaturally firm frame of GAIA, as well, pressing her face into the fabric of the Oseram shirt near her neck.  


“It is okay,” GAIA whispered.  


“What if I fail?” Aloy muttered into the thick, white fabric. “How can I find you again?”  


A hand suddenly came to a rest on the back of Aloy’s head, slowly running over her hair as a shiver ran down her spine.  


“You will know when… and how.”  


Aloy shook her head, but GAIA simply stroked her hair, once again, humming an affirmative. A moment later, she began to pull back from Aloy, but the redhead refused to let her go.  


“Aloy…”  


Finally, with a sigh, she opened her eyes, releasing her arms from around GAIA. As she took a step back, the former AI’s hands cupped her chin, lifting her face so their eyes met.  


“In you, all things are possible.”  


Aloy smiled softly, even as she felt a hot burning begin to form in the corners of her eyes.  


“You keep saying that.”  


“Because it remains true.”  


With that, GAIA carefully wiped the tears from the inside of Aloy’s cheeks before letting her hands fall away, once again. Finally, with one last deep breath, the huntress turned toward the rest of the group, already feeling herself grow tense. When she finally saw the expressions on their faces, she paused, the realization that the awkward feeling that came almost any other time she had been the center of attention, before, seemed to be missing taking a moment or two to take hold.  


Petra and Talanah both wore warm smiles, while Erend’s bore something else in his eyes as he hurriedly wiped at one of them with the back of his hand.  


“Sorry,” Aloy mumbled.  


“Nothing to be sorry about, Little Spark,” Petra replied. “Family’s a powerful thing.”  


The redhead paused for a moment, her eyes glazing over.  


“Family?”  


After several more blinks, her gaze cleared, only to find that she had turned toward GAIA, who was offering her a familiar, warm smile.  


“If you want it to be.”  


Aloy continued to stare back at her for several long moments before swallowing thickly and nodding.  


“Yeah… I think I do.”  


“Well, then it’s settled!”  


Aloy and GAIA both started at Petra’s sudden exclamation, which only prompted her to laugh loudly.  


“Come on then… I’m sick of the inside of this mountain, and the outdoors are just right up there,” she continued, gesturing behind her. “Let’s at least take this outside, yeah?”  


The others offered their agreement and turned to make their way toward the circle of light up ahead that marked the beginning of the fresh air and sunlight that had been severely lacking from the subterranean world of the facility. Aloy spared one last glance over at GAIA before they began to follow the other three.  


As soon as they stepped outside, the bright sunlight hitting them in full force, Aloy found the tension she hadn’t even noticed in her neck and shoulders melt away, leaving her with a strange sensation somewhere between a numbness and euphoria, a light feeling immediately rising in her chest.  


“The sun… I was starting to forget what it felt like…” Talanah sighed, raising her arms to either side of her and tilting her head back.  


“That mountain air, almost reminds you of home, eh?” Erend asked, turning to Petra and nudging her with his elbow.  


“Aye, that it does, a bit,” she nodded, grinning.  


Aloy’s pulled back in a lazy smile as she turned to GAIA to find the former AI turning in place, her gaze travelling over every rock on the mountain, every blade of grass in the clearing, and every cloud in the sky.  


“I saw all of this through your Focus,” she muttered softly, “but to truly be here…”  


“It’s a completely different world.”  


The former AI finally turned to Aloy, a smile firmly set into her features.  


“It is.”  


Alost as soon as they descended into Mother’s Watch, they quickly realized that they had not taken into account what might happen if they suddenly brought a brand new person with them that none of the Nora had ever seen before. Although the High Matriarchs had been the only ones to actually see the recording of GAIA, before, many of those in the courtyard of the settlement seemed quick to come to their own conclusions.  


“It’s… it must really be her!”  


“The outcast… she… she was right?”  


“The All Mother… with the girl?”  


“She must truly not be a curse…”  


Aloy glanced over at GAIA with her lips pulled into a thin line, but the former AI simply smiled and said nothing. They slowly made their way through the crowd that had begun to form, the Nora all trying to get a closer look at the mysterious new woman. Aloy remained tense, eying each person who approached for signs that they had changed their mind and decided that GAIA was a trick of the Metal Devil, but only stunned reactions seemed to ripple outward.  


Finally, when they reached the door, they came to a stop as a single figure approached out of a group of Braves. Aloy took a deep breath as she stepped forward, as well, meeting Sona just before the main gates of Mother’s Watch.  


“Aloy… what… what is this?” the War Chief asked, her eyes wide as she stared past her at GAIA.  


“This… this is the Goddess,” she said slowly.  


“You… you cannot be speaking blasphemy…” Sona muttered. “With my own two eyes…”  


“I said that my mission was to help, and I have helped her,” Aloy continued, “but there is more to do… more beyond the mountain.”  


Sona blinked rapidly, seeming to come back to her senses as she focused on the redhead.  


“Where do you go, now?”  


Aloy paused, quickly picking up on the hint of tension in the War Chief’s voice.  


“I don’t know.”  


Confusion creased Sona’s face as Aloy cleared her throat, rushing to explain.  


“There is still much to heal in the world… but to truly do so, we need to go beyond the Sacred Lands, once again.”  


“So… the All Mother is leaving us?”  


“ _Uh oh._ ”  


“N-no, she’s not—”  


“I do not leave you behind me.”  


Aloy jumped slightly, whirling around to find GAIA had approached the two of them, coming to a stop beside her. Sona took a cautious step backward, but quickly seemed to force herself to fall still as her hands worked anxiously at her sides.  


“Although our goals may lie beyond these lands,” GAIA continued, “I do not abandon you. I am weakened, and am not able to help in healing the Nora, as I wish I could. My promise to you—all of you—is that when I am restored… I will return.”  


Sona’s expression remained unreadable, but she began to nod.  


“O-of course, Goddess,” she finally muttered. “I do not attempt to question your ways—”  


“There is no need to apologize,” GAIA interrupted, shaking her head. “I understand your fear, and I only seek to reassure you that it is unfounded.”  


GAIA held one hand out toward Sona, whose eyes widened further than before, her entire body growing stiff. They both appeared frozen still for several moments before the War Chief slowly began to extend her hand toward the former AI’s. She hesitated at the last second, her palm hovering mere inches over GAIA’s, the trembling in her fingers evident from even feet away, but she finally closed the gap.  


Immediately, a shiver ran through Sona’s body as she let out a gasp, but didn’t pull her hand away. GAIA gently laid her other hand atop Sona’s, offering her a warm smile.  


“You will see, soon enough,” she said softly. “Aloy, her companions, and myself… we seek to help the world and all its peoples… including the Nora.”  


Sona continued to stare down at her hand, held between GAIA’s, her chest heaving with each panting breath.  


“Do you trust me?”  


The War Chief blinked rapidly, finally tearing her gaze away from her hand to look up at GAIA’s face, nodding quickly.  


“Yes… yes, I do, Goddess.”  


The former AI’s smile broadened for a moment before she pulled her hands away, letting Sona’s fall back by her side, once again. Silence fell over the three of them for several long moments before Sona seemed to regain her composure and she cleared her throat, straightening her posture, once again.  


“Then I wish you success on your journey,” she said, nodding to Aloy and GAIA in turn before turning back to the Braves atop the wall. “Open the gate! Let them pass!”  


Nothing happened for several long seconds, before one of the Braves seemed to snap out of his daze, hitting the woman beside him on the shoulder, causing her to jump in surprise. They quickly set to the apparatus beside them, the sounds of the heavy, wooden portal swinging open filling the air within seconds.  


Once it was just wide enough for a person to fit through, it came to a stop, leaving the courtyard in total silence, once again. Aloy glanced back toward the rest of the group find that they had all gathered behind her and GAIA, already, glancing back at the crowd that still watched them in awe.  


“This is starting to freak me out,” Talanah whispered, and Petra hummed in agreement.  


With a deep breath, Aloy turned back to Sona just as the War Chief placed one hand on her shoulder, causing her to jump.  


“Aloy, since you came to our assistance in our pursuit of the killers who nearly took your own life… I have felt that the accusations by so many of the tribe were wrong. Now, though… I know they are.”  


The huntress shuffled awkwardly before nodding in thanks, her lips pulling into a thin line. With a grin, Sona pulled her hand away.  


“I will not hold you any longer. Go. It seems there is much for you to do.”  


With that, the group finally made their way through the gate, stepping into the Embrace beyond. Seemingly in silent agreement, they all began to follow the trail to the right almost immediately upon exiting the settlement. They travelled in silence for a good while until they came upon a herd of Striders. Aloy brought them to a stop, grabbing her spear from behind her.  


As she brought it before her, she paused, glancing down at the hilt, where the override tool was now missing. With a frown, she began to put the spear back when something nudged her shoulder and she glanced toward it. Her eyebrows raised as she saw the glowing ring of the Master Override, and she quickly glanced back to find Talanah holding it.  


“I kept it after you threw it to me,” she said. “Seemed important, you know?”  


Aloy’s lips quickly pulled into a grin as she took the device from the Carja huntress. Within a matter of moments, she had lashed it to her spear, once again, using some metal twine and rope provided by Petra. Satisfied, she spun the spear several times in her hands, testing the balance.  


“Good enough for now,” she remarked, glancing around the group. “Be right back.”  


After about ten minutes and a copious amount of running and hiding on Aloy’s part, she had managed to override three Striders, bringing them back to the group.  


“Did you forget how to count?” Petra jabbed, smirking.  


“No, just… well, this was hard enough,” she shrugged. “Guess we’re mostly gonna have to double up.”  


“Well, I am most definitely going to be the one controlling one of them,” she replied, raising one hand, “so that’s my spot.”  


“Me, too,” Aloy chimed in, glancing to Erend and Talanah. “Guess you get to fight over who rides with who.”  


As Erend began to open his mouth, Talanah suddenly hopped forward beside Aloy, glancing back at him and smirking. He paused, glancing between the two of them for a moment, before closing his mouth and shaking his head.  


“Should have figured…”  


Aloy raised her eyebrows, but he didn’t seem to notice as he and Petra approached the Strider to Aloy’s left. After a glance to Talanah, who simply shot her a broad grin, she turned to GAIA.  


“I thought you’d need your own,” she said.  


GAIA nodded, approaching the third, unclaimed Strider and gently running her hand along the top of its head.  


“I am still in awe,” she said softly, “and I cannot wait to see more.”  


“Just, uh, be careful,” Aloy replied, frowning slightly. “Most aren’t so friendly and some are… more dangerous than others.”  


A saddened expression came over GAIA as she turned toward Aloy, but nodded.  


“I understand.”  


With that, they took their places on their mounts. Some amount of shifting and positioning was required with two people carrying all of their travelling gear aboard each Strider, but eventually everyone seemed to settle in. With a sigh, Aloy grabbed the wires from the back of the Strider’s head and glanced over at GAIA to see her regarding them with a look of amusement.  


“Something funny?”  


“Of course not.”  


Aloy narrowed her eyes at her, but quickly broke into a grin as she glanced over her shoulder at Talanah.  


“Comfortable back there?”  


“As I can be.”  


“Good enough.”  


With that, she turned the Strider back toward the path and spurred it onward with her heels and a shake of the wires. Almost as soon as the machine lurched forward, Talanah’s arms wrapped around Aloy’s midsection and she jumped in surprise, as well, before quickly trying to hide her reaction.  


“Thought I had better balance than that, but… nope,” Talanah muttered from behind her.  


Aloy simply laughed, but glanced back to make sure the others were following before urging her strider onward at a faster canter. The trip through the Embrace to the main gate took only a few minutes, but the distance between the Main Embrace Gate and the road into Daytower took significantly longer. Just as they reached the base of the mountain path that began to lead toward the Carja outpost, GAIA signaled for them to stop.  


They circled their Striders around the fork in the path they had come toward, confusion creasing the other four’s faces.  


“What’s wrong?” Petra asked.  


“Nothing wrong, just… I think this is where we go our own ways.”  


Aloy’s jaw clenched tightly and GAIA seemed to immediately pick up on her reaction.  


“I already told you, Aloy—”  


“We can do it on our own, I know,” she interrupted shortly.  


“And I was perfectly honest when I said so, then, and still believe it now.”  


“I know, but…”  


Aloy stared down at the wires in her hands, the faint blue glow from whatever energy seemed to control the machine drawing her focus as she felt unable to meet anyone’s gaze. Silence continued to pervade the group for several long moments before someone else broke it.  


“Where you going, then?” Petra asked.  


“I think… I want to see GAIA Prime for myself… what remains of it,” GAIA replied slowly. “From there… I have not decided yet.”  


Silence fell over the group, once again, for several long moments, but Aloy continued to stare down at her hands, or the ground beneath her Strider.  


“Aloy… please… would you look at me?”  


A heavy lump appeared in her throat, and she quickly tried to swallow it down before she lifted her head, finally meeting GAIA’s gaze.  


“Aloy, this is not goodbye.”  


“It’s a big world out there, GAIA,” she shot back. “Anything could happen to you.”  


“I understand,” she replied, nodding slowly, “but the same can be said for any person.”  


“But you’re not just any person!” Aloy blurted out, her hands tightening around the Strider’s wires. “Not to the world and… not to me.”  


The redhead’s chest heaved as she felt her heart rate begin to increase, a tight feeling appearing over her sternum.  


“If you don’t come back…”  


“I will.”  


GAIA’s voice was firm, and the expression on her face showed no lack of conviction, her gaze refusing to waver from Aloy. Finally, the redhead sighed, nodding slowly.  


“It’s no use trying to convince you otherwise,” she said quietly.  


“There are things that we all feel we have to do, at some point,” Talanah suddenly chimed in, her voice over Aloy’s shoulder causing her to jump slightly. “You know, like… rebuild a machine that once rebuilt the entire world… or kill a demon machine that only wants to kill everything else?”  


Aloy tried to shoot her an admonishing look, but the effect was lost as she couldn’t fully see the Carja huntress behind her, so she eventually gave up and let out a heavy sigh, turning back to GAIA, once again.  


“Talanah described it well,” the former AI said. “Will you please trust me, Aloy, as I trust you?”  


Aloy’s lips pulled into a thin line as she stared back at her.  


“Not fair.”  


A smirk tugged at GAIA’s lips.  


“I know you too well, I suppose.”  


Aloy slowly shook her head before letting out a heavy sigh.  


“I can’t stop you, GAIA, so… you just better follow through on your promise.”  


“I would not have made it if I did not know I will.”  


With that, Aloy raised a hand to wave goodbye, GAIA mirroring the gesture.  


“Safe travels,” Erend chimed in, leaning around Petra.  


“Yeah, what he said,” Petra replied, smirking.  


GAIA smiled, glancing around the group one last time before nodding.  


“The same to all of you.”  


With that, she turned her Strider and ushered it along the trail leading away from the mountain pass. They all watched her go until she finally rounded a bend behind a large rock outcropping and disappeared from view. With a heavy sigh, Aloy tore her eyes away from the last spot she had been visible, and instead turned her Strider toward the trail toward Daytower.  


“So… onward to Meridian?”  


The others remained silent, Petra and Erend simply staring back at her with expectant looks.  


“What?”  


“That the next move, Flame Hair?”  


She fell silent for several moments, chewing the inside of her cheek in thought before shrugging.  


“Everyone said they wanted a break first… seems like it would make the most sense.”  


Petra smirked, gesturing up the trail ahead of them.  


“Lead on, then, Aloy Sobeck.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Congratulate yourself for finishing all of that!
> 
> So yeah... I toyed with so many different ideas of exactly how to resolve the main arc of this, and... this idea won out.
> 
> It's not the most bombastic or "Hollywood" of endings, but... it seemed fitting the more I thought about it.
> 
> One more chapter next week. Happy Holidays and I'll see you then!


	25. How We Go On

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off, happy Monday.
> 
> Second off, wow... so here it is. The final chapter of _Singularity_ , and of the _Living Systems_ trilogy.
> 
> Bear with me while I get a bit sappy here for a moment.
> 
> The fact that this is finally the last chapter of this series is still so mind-blowing to me, as I never started this thinking it would amount to anything more than a small little story I'd maybe put online and everyone would overlook and, at the best, forget about quickly... but wow, that was not the case.
> 
> I am forever grateful and indebted to the people who read this series chapter after chapter, commented, or left kudos. I seriously would have never finished this without all of the encouragement of seeing other people enjoying this. Yeah, I know, I said a lot of this before, but I wanted to say it again, for good measure.
> 
> I can most likely guarantee this isn't the last you'll see of me around here, so definitely keep on the lookout for something to appear, but it more than likely won't be added to the _Living Systems_ series page. So, if you like my writing overall, hopefully I'll see you there in the future.
> 
> For everyone who's ridden the roller coaster that has been this series, this chapter's for you. The previous chapter was the big, climatic ending that wrapped up this story's main plot, as well as (hopefully) gave some semblance of closure to this series, overall, even if it wasn't quite as neat and wrapped up as it could be. I like that kind of openness in the endings, though, so I tried to deliver something satisfying without making it so neat and clean that you could scrawl "and they lived happily ever after" over the screen as it ended.
> 
> Or something like that.
> 
> Anyway, this chapter has much less of the large stakes drama, but hopefully provides a bit more of a closing for the characters, themselves.
> 
> Simply put, as my thanks to all of you, I wanted to leave you with a bit of a warm and fuzzy feeling.
> 
> So I hope you enjoy, and thank you, once again.

The sudden intrusion of a loud pounding woke Aloy from a sound sleep, causing her to jerk bolt upright in her bed. The hair on the back of her neck stood up straight for several moments before her eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room and she paused, confusion creasing her face. A moment later, the pounding came again and she sighed, wiping at her eyes tiredly with one hand before throwing the thin blanket off herself and begrudgingly dragging herself to her feet.  


She slowly padded to the set of stairs across the room and made her way toward the first floor. A deep yawn forced its way out of her as she reached the bottom and began to make her way toward the front door even as the pounding came once again. As soon as it finished, she grabbed the handle and pulled the door open, immediately squinting against the bright sunlight that suddenly poured in through the opening.  


“Can’t say I expected to be waking you.”  


She raised one hand to block the light, but a moment later the figure before her slipped by and entered the apartment. Aloy turned from the door, blinking rapidly against the bright spots left behind from where the sun had burned them into her eyes a moment ago.  


“Did it turn into one of those nights with Petra, last night?”  


Finally, Aloy’s eyes readjusted to the relative darkness of the apartment interior as she pushed the door closed behind her, a heavy sigh escaping her.  


“No, it did not.”  


Talanah glanced back at her with a smirk as she came to a stop beside the counter in the small kitchen, folding her arms over her chest.  


“I see you didn’t make any progress on the receiver, either, though.”  


Aloy made a face as she glanced at the pile of machine parts and tools that had taken over the center of the first floor living space, most of it simply left wherever she had dropped it the last time she had stopped working.  


“I hit a wall.”  


“Metaphorically, or… with your fist?”  


“With my head.”  


Talanah raised her eyebrows slightly as Aloy smirked, moving toward the kitchen, as well, folding her arms over her chest and leaning against the opposite end of the counter.  


“Sounds painful.”  


“For me?”  


“Well, you do have a pretty hard head.”  


Aloy shot her an admonishing look as Talanah flashed her a devilish smirk.  


“So did you come by just to make fun of me first thing in the morning?”  


“Well, as much as I love doing that,” Talanah sighed. “We do have an audience with Avad that I thought you might want to get to on time.”  


Aloy’s eyes widened as she swore under her breath.  


“Forgot?”  


Aloy grumbled something unintelligible under her breath as she quickly pushed away from the counter, eying Talanah’s neatly folded, tied, and brightly colored Carja silk outfit, along with the reflective metal headpiece.  


“Formal?”  


“Well, we are talking to the Sun King and most of his trusted advisors, so…”  


“I get it, I get it.”  


Aloy rushed up the stairs to the bedroom, quickly digging through the wardrobe until she had managed to find a combination that seemed to at least match Talanah’s in level of style. Ripping off her brown, loose-fitting top made out of a fabric from some combination of animal furs and baggy, dark blue Carja leggings, she quickly donned the light blue silk top with a pair of white leggings and a red and yellow skirt over them, instead. Fully dressed, she ran her fingers through her hair, grimacing at the greasiness she found. With a sigh, she quickly pulled it into a loose bun shape behind her head, securing it in place with a single, dark blue tie.  


With a sigh, and one last attempt to smooth out the front of her top, she grabbed her boots and spun on her heel, heading toward the stairs, once again. As she reached the bottom, she glanced toward the kitchen to find Talanah had helped herself to an apple from a bowl on the counter, and was staring absentmindedly into the pile of machine parts across from her.  


“Oh, go right ahead, have some food.”  


She blinked, snapping out of her daze, it seemed, and glanced up at Aloy, smirking.  


“Oh, thanks.”  


Aloy rolled her eyes as she crossed the living space, coming to a stop beside Talanah and dropping her boots on the floor.  


“Want one?”  


She paused, glancing over to find the Carja huntress holding another apple toward her. Aloy shot her a look, but swiped it from her hand and bit into it, holding it in her mouth as she began to pull on her boots.  


“You know, blue is really your color,” Talanah remarked before taking another bite of her apple, “other than red, of course.”  


Aloy tied the last lace of her boot in place before straightening up, ripping off a chunk of apple before holding the remaining portion at her side.  


“Thanks,” she muttered through her mouthful of food.  


Talanah wrinkled her nose as she glanced over at her.  


“Gross, Aloy.”  


“What is?” she shot back, exaggeratedly chewing her food with an open mouth and spewing a few pieces as she spoke.  


Talanah leaned away from her, pushing against her shoulder playfully.  


“Okay, Savage Girl, you ready to go?”  


Aloy nodded, chewing much more normally as she took another bite. The sun seemed much less bright this time as they stepped into the short alleyway outside the apartment’s front door, Talanah waiting impatiently as Aloy locked it behind her.  


“So, what exactly is on the agenda, today?” Aloy asked, catching up with the Carja huntress as she turned and began walking.  


“Well, I believe the Minister of Education is supposed to give an update,” Talanah replied, leading the way into the busy street and cutting across the flow of the crowd to slip into place on the opposite side. “Then I’m sure they’re going to want to know about whatever you have to tell them.”  


“Which is?”  


“That’s up for you to decide,” Talanah shot back, smirking. “It’s your project, after all.”  


“You’ve been helping.”  


“Moral encouragement isn’t exactly helping.”  


Aloy rolled her eyes as she shoved Talanah’s shoulder playfully.  


“So how’s Erend doing, by the way?”  


“Same as always,” she shrugged, taking one last bite of her apple before tossing the core into a nearby alleyway. “Still complaining about the cold.”  


“He’s the one who volunteered to continue making the runs between here and the Grave Hoard,” Talanah shot back. “What happened to ‘thick Oseram blood’?”  


“Spent too much time in Meridian, I guess.”  


“Or he’s just getting old.”  


“He’s only a year older than you.”  


“ _I’m_ old.”  


Aloy sighed heavily, shaking her head.  


“I told you at your celebration… twenty-seven is not old.”  


“Sure, but the new Thrushes at the lodge? Children, Aloy. They look like children.”  


“You know what? Maybe you are getting old.”  


Talanah scoffed, flinging her apple core at Aloy as she tried to bat it away, but it still managed to hit her in the shoulder.  


Not long after, they reached the end of the bridge to the palace, approaching the posting of guards in their ornate Carja armor. The man in the center saw them coming through the crowd and instinctually straightened up, the rest of his company following suit a moment later.  


“Morning, ma’ams,” he said, nodding as they passed.  


“Breaking out the ma’am on us, now,” Talanah muttered as they started across the bridge.  


“I already said you were old, I don’t know what you expect.”  


Talanah swatted at the back of her head, but Aloy quickly leaned forward, the Carja’s hand missing by mere inches. With a laugh, she glanced back, only to see Talanah winding up for another attempt. Aloy broke into a run, quickly putting a sizeable gap between the two of them before the Carja was able to give chase. As she reached the far end of the bridge, she realized a figure stood in the center of the pathway, and she slowed to a walk.  


A few moments later, the sound of Talanah’s footsteps approaching from behind her also began to slow, and she glanced back to see the Carja huntress also seemingly taking notice of the figure, but not before shooting Aloy a dirty look.  


“Good morning,” Marad drawled as the two women approached. “I’m glad to see you two are fully awake, today.”  


“As always,” Talanah shot back. “We’re not late, right?”  


“No,” Marad sighed. “Shockingly you are right on time.”  


Talanah scoffed, glancing over at Aloy.  


“Shockingly?”  


“May I remind you that the last three council meetings, at least one of you has been at least fifteen minutes late?”  


“No, you may not,” the Carja shot back, scowling, “but looks like you did, anyway.”  


Marad offered her his trademark half-smirk before turning and moving toward the nearby stairs.  


“I will see you there shortly, then.”  


As soon as he had turned his back, something suddenly smacked Aloy upside the head and she jumped, glancing over at Talanah, who simply jabbed a finger in her direction.  


“That’s doubly for making me run so early,” she whispered.  


“That actually kind of hurt…”  


“You’re a big girl.”  


The redhead continued to mutter under her breath, but the two of them began to follow Marad up the steps toward the top level of the palace. As they climbed, Aloy glanced off to her right, over the hundreds of miles of open ground visible from the top of the Mesa, her eyes quickly scanning over the swath of red sand before settling on the large mountains in the distance. For a moment, she swore she could just make out the edge of the large crater in the side of the largest one, but she quickly turned away, focusing on the stairs again as they neared the top.  


The throne room, itself, was empty at this hour, with the small gate to the ornate chair closed and locked, and no line of nobles looking to file a grievance with the Sun King, himself. The three of them, instead, turned toward the large doors at the back of the open area where the stairs deposited them, heading through into the more relaxed, intimate quarters of the couches and shades that made up the more “official” audience chambers of the king.  


As they entered, they found that while Marad had said they were on time, they were most definitely the last ones there. Several of the older council members gave them reproachful glances as they entered, but as soon as Avad caught sight of them, he rose from his seat, a wide smile pulling at his lips.  


“Good morning,” he called, raising his arms almost as if he expected to embrace them, but he soon dropped them to his sides. “You’re just in time. Please, take a seat.”  


They nodded, finding their way to a couch on the far side of the seating area and falling onto it, Aloy forced to take the specific seat next to one of the other council members, while Talanah took the one against the arm with a smirk. The redhead glanced over at the grey-haired man beside her, but he seemed to be paying her no mind, his attention solely focused on the Sun King off to their right.  


The meeting began as they always had, with a brief prayer led by one of the heavily-robed priests, before a man who looked as if he could be no older than eighteen red off the agenda. Aloy counted how many items came before her name was mentioned and mentally began trying to prepare something.  


The first speakers began, talking about things such as trade with various cities and peoples and recent envoy trips to these foreign lands, as well, but by the end of the third’s speech, Aloy glanced over to find Talanah had slunk low in her seat, her head propped up by her fist; by how much of an indent her elbow was making in the cushion of the couch’s arm, it was clear she was moments from falling asleep, if she hadn’t already.  


Aloy subtly leaned toward her before delivering a sharp jab to her ribs, prompting the Carja to jump in surprise, her head slipping off her fist. She glanced around, blinking rapidly, as Aloy smirked.  


“My turn?” she muttered.  


“Almost,” Aloy whispered, shaking her head, “but also just trying to save you some face.”  


Talanah gave her a hard look, but pulled herself into more of a normal sitting position, smoothing out the front of her outfit, as she did. The young man stood at the front of the group, once again, holding the partially unrolled scroll before him.  


“Next is the Minister of Defense.”  


Talanah sighed, adjusting her position on the couch, once again, as Aloy glanced over at her.  


“Ready for this?”  


“Never.”  


Aloy smirked as they turned back to the front of the meeting area, watching as an older man dressed in clothing indicative of the oldest of elite Carja nobles took his spot at the head of the group. He immediately began to launch into a long-winded speech about how the borders along various sides, different than the last time he had spoken, were beginning to fall apart. Just from observing the general body language of the gathered council members, it was obvious that no one was taking this part of his briefing seriously.  


Only when he finally moved on to the section regarding the machine attacks and behaviors did most of the group perk up, once again.  


“We continue to see an increase in unprovoked attacks to hunters and general populace, alike,” he continued. “The machines’ coordination has also continued to increase. Reports of Sawtooths seeming to act in groups and even bating hunters into traps and ambushes continue to come in from across the Sundom, and from tales of travelers from farther abroad.”  


For a moment, the minister’s gaze fell on Aloy, before his jaw squared and he cleared his throat, turning back to the group.  


“We continue to not have a clear idea what is causing this, at this time.”  


Aloy’s hands clenched tightly around the fabric of her skirt as he offered his brief closing remarks before taking his seat amongst the group, once again. The young man returned to the front of the group, unrolling his scroll enough to read the next item.  


“The Minister of Education will now provide the update to two years of the Public Education program.”  


With a slow, deep sigh, Aloy unclenched her hands and glanced over at Talanah. The Carja glanced to her for a moment before taking a deep breath and pushing herself to her feet.  


“So, as you all heard,” she began, “we’re currently marking the two year anniversary of the start of the Public Education program.”  


Aloy smirked as she noted how Talanah shifted slightly under the stares of everyone now fixed upon her. Despite her body language, however, her voice didn’t waver as she continued.  


“So as most of you know, five years ago, a small group of us returned from the Nora lands with some information and technology that the world hadn’t seen in nearly a thousand years. With the help of Aloy Sobeck, this was brought back to life. I was the first person to utilize the information and learn from it, testing out the system that has now become the basis of the entire education program. I learned greatly from it, myself, and now… it seems so are many others.”  


Talanah continued on to detail how the APOLLO program had risen from being a barely functional system that was prone to crashes and missing sections in its early days to a robust wealth of knowledge that had been integrated with actual teachers to help link the gap between the information as it had been preserved from the Old Ones and how it could be used in the modern day.  


As she continued to speak, Aloy instead looked out among the other council members, scanning their faces for their reactions. A small smile tugged at her lips as she noted how many of them wore expressions that could only be described as approving.  


“ _Far cry from the beginning, fighting inch by inch to win them over._ ”  


Aloy’s smile turned into a smirk as she leaned back in her seat, half-listening as Talanah finished her presentation.  


“And so, based on testimonials from the teachers, themselves, combined with the actual evidence of application and even sparks of innovation in many places… the program has proven itself to be a success, and continues to be so, today.”  


A moment’s pause followed before a round of applause began to spread throughout the gathered council. Talanah heaved a heavy sigh as she glanced around for several moments, offering a small bow of her head toward Avad before taking a seat on the couch, once again. Aloy prodded her with her elbow playfully, grinning.  


“Look at you,” she said quietly. “When did you become a real adult?”  


Talanah rolled her eyes but couldn’t hide the grin on her face. A moment later, once the applause had died down, the young man called the next agenda item.  


“An update on the continued restoration project from Aloy Sobeck.”  


The redhead sighed, closing her eyes for a moment before pushing herself to her feet.  


“As I’m sure many of you are aware,” she began right away, not even fully standing as she began speaking, “the restoration project includes programs such as APOLLO, but also many others. One of its main goals is to help pacify the machines to pre-Derangement levels. From what we heard from the Minister of Defense, however… it’s clear we’re not quite done.”  


Silence rang out over the gathered council as Aloy found herself unable to look at any one person for longer than a few moments at a time. Finally, when her eyes fell on Avad, she paused, noting his interested expression, but without the signs of annoyance, fear, or anger that some of the others had started to show.  


“Several months ago, we issued a transmission using the Spire,” she continued, turning back to sweep her gaze over the rest of the group. “This was our first attempt to begin reconnecting the pieces of the fractured global system—”  


“And what results have you had?” one of the council members interjected, prompting a hard glare from Aloy for a moment before she cleared her throat, attempting to reset her expression to a more neutral one.  


“We have not confirmed that it has been entirely successful, yet.”  


“So it has failed?”  


Aloy’s jaw clenched as a murmur quickly spread out amongst the crowd.  


“It has not _failed_ ,” she said forcefully, “we simply do not have a full answer, yet. Small adjustments and tweaks continue to be made, however it is too soon to rule a success or a failure, at this time.”  


With that, Aloy sat back down on the couch, staring down at her hands in her lap as her fingers worked tensely, twisting and clenching with restrained energy. The murmuring continued for several moments before the young man’s voice rang out again, reading the next point on the agenda.  


The rest of the council meeting passed with little excitement, and as soon as Avad had dismissed the crowd, Aloy rose to her feet and made her way toward the exit. She was halfway there when something grabbed her shoulder and pulled her to a stop. As she whirled around, her mouth began to open, an angry retort at the tip of her tongue.  


“Hey, stop,” Talanah said, quickly grabbing her other shoulder and holding her firmly still. “Breathe.”  


Aloy still looked as if she wanted to say something, but the Carja gave her a hard look and she finally relented, sighing before taking a deep breath in through her nose, closing her eyes.  


“Don’t let their gossip get to you.”  


“It’s not just gossip, Talanah,” she sighed, opening her eyes once again. “They think I’ve already failed.”  


“They don’t know what to think,” Talanah shot back, smirking. “They never took any of the APOLLO courses, you know.”  


Aloy shook her head as the Carja woman laughed softly.  


“You’re doing everything you can, and it’s incredibly difficult. Don’t let some idiot who wouldn’t even begin to understand how a machine works, let alone an AI, tell you that you failed. Nothing’s exploded, the machines have not launched an all-out assault on Meridian, and the sky has not fallen.”  


Aloy frowned slightly and Talanah simply shook her shoulders more emphatically.  


“Do you understand me?”  


“Yes, but—”  


Talanah suddenly placed a finger over her lips, stopping Aloy mid-sentence.  


“No buts.”  


The redhead gave her a hard look as Talanah smirked and pulled her hand away, letting her arms fall to her sides, once again.  


“We’ll keep working, until we get it right.”  


A shiver ran down Aloy’s spine at the phrase, but she nodded.  


“In the meantime, we’ve got the celebration tonight.”  


Confusion creased the redhead’s face as Talanah smirked.  


“You know, in honor my success?”  


Aloy gave her an admonishing look as the Carja laughed.  


“I’m just kidding, Aloy,” she said, “but the party’s real.”  


“I know. You’ve been reminding me all week.”  


“Didn’t want you to ‘forget’ again.”  


The redhead scoffed as Talanah smirked.  


“You make that face like you haven’t done it.”  


“I… I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Aloy replied, turning to begin walking away, but the Carja woman quickly fell in step beside her.  


They continued to trade light-hearted blows and banter as they made their way down the set of stairs toward the large, open dais just before the long bridge to the main part of the city. As they approached, however, Aloy immediately noted the figure seemingly waiting impatiently in the center of the platform. What drew her attention even more was his outfit.  


“What’s a Nora doing all the way out here?” Talanah whispered.  


“Not sight-seeing, I’d guess…”  


The figure finally noticed the approaching women and perked up, quickly moving over to the foot of the stairs.  


“Aloy, the Seeker.”  


His tone was much more of a statement, leaving no room for her to truly deny him.  


“Yes?”  


“I’ve come at the request of the High Matriarchs,” he continued. “For the moment, I am a Seeker, as well, but… well, my purpose is to deliver a request.”  


Confusion creased the redhead’s face as she stepped onto the dais, coming to a stop before him.  


“A request?”  


Her mouth had immediately gone dry as she tried to hide how her right hand fidgeted with her skirt by quickly folding her arms before her.  


“They asked I give you this, first.”  


He held out what seemed to be a roll of thin leather, tied with a simple cord tied around its center. Aloy glanced down at it for a moment before slowly taking whatever the High Matriarchs had deemed to be so important that they had sent a young man all the way to Meridian, presumably by himself.  


She undid the tie around the bundle, unrolling it to find that it appeared to be a letter of some kind. Her confusion only deepened as she scanned over it quickly.  


“What exactly is this asking?”  


The Nora Brave let out a heavy sigh, seemingly gathering his composure as he met her gaze.  


“High Matriarch Lansra has passed into the arms of the All Mother.”  


Aloy’s eyebrows raised as she lowered the leather scroll, holding it loosely at her side.  


“Really?”  


The Brave nodded.  


“In her place, a new High Matriarch has been appointed.”  


“That was fast.”  


“The Nora do not have time to let such important decisions remain unmade.”  


Aloy exchanged a quick glance with Talanah, who had remained a few feet behind her.  


“The new Matriarch believed firmly in extending this request to you,” he continued, gesturing to the scroll in her hand.  


“I read it, but it just seems like a description of duties,” she replied, raising the leather scroll slightly. “What exactly are they asking of me?”  


The Brave took a deep breath, straightening his posture, once again.  


“The High Matriarchs are requesting—asking—if you will consider acting as an official consulate of the Nora people abroad.”  


Aloy froze in place, the only motion she seemed capable of performing blinking as she stared back at the Brave in complete silence. Once it had dragged on for several long moments, he shuffled, clearing his throat as he glanced away before quickly turning his gaze back to her.  


“What say you?”  


“Who is this Matriarch?”  


It was the Brave’s turn to look confused.  


“I’m sorry?”  


“Who is the new Matriarch that pushed for this?” Aloy asked, gesturing to the scroll in her hand.  


“Oh,” he nodded, clearing his throat, again. “High Matriarch Sona.”  


Aloy physically leaned away slightly, blinking more forcefully.  


“As in… former War Chief Sona?”  


The Brave nodded and Aloy let out a soft “huh,” opening the scroll to glance over its message, once again.  


“Sona said that… you might have some… hesitations.”  


Aloy glanced back over at the Brave, raising her eyebrows slightly.  


“Oh?”  


“And she specifically wanted to include in the request,” he continued quickly, “that this request does not have a requirement to return to the Sacred Lands as your home.”  


The redhead nodded slowly, turning back to the scroll as her lips scrunched tightly to one side. She remained silent for several long moments before a different voice broke the silence, causing her to start in surprise.  


“So… you going to accept?”  


She glanced over to find Talanah had approached, and was staring down at the scroll, as well, only glancing up as the redhead turned toward her.  


“I mean—”  


“They’re trying to extend an offer of peace to you.”  


“I know, but—”  


“And they’re not even saying you have to go home.”  


“It’s not—”  


“You can stay here, but have a bit more pull with them… and it would look good here in Meridian, too…”  


“Okay, okay!” Aloy huffed, shooting a hard glare at the Carja woman beside her as she smirked. “I… sure, I’ll do it.”  


She turned back to the Brave to find him with a surprised expression on his face for a moment before he quickly tried to hide it.  


“Then I shall relay your acceptance to the High Matriarchs,” he said, bowing his head slightly. “Is there a message you wish to convey back to them, for yourself?”  


Aloy stared vacantly into space beside the Brave for a moment or two before nodding slowly.  


“Tell Sona… we’ll still keep our promise.”  


The Brave seemed somewhat confused by her response, but quickly nodded when it was apparent she wasn’t going to clarify or say anything else.  


“Then I will bid you goodbye, for now,” he said, bowing his head slightly to her, “Aloy, the Seeker.”  


With that, he quickly turned and began to make his way back across the bridge toward Meridian, a single Carja guard following closely behind him the entire way. Once he was nearly halfway across, Aloy felt a jab to her side and she jumped in surprise, glancing over to find Talanah with a wide grin on her face.  


“Look at you,” she said. “When did you become a real adult?”  


Aloy rolled her eyes, wrapping the scroll tightly with the cord, once again, before setting out across the bridge, herself, Talanah hurrying to catch up.  


“Guess that means the celebration can be for both of us tonight.”  


After leaving the palace, Talanah followed Aloy back to her apartment, where the redhead set to work on the pile of machine parts in her first floor living space. The Carja fell onto the couch with a sigh, pulling her headpiece off and removing her hair from the tight ponytail it had been drawn into all morning. Aloy smirked as she watched her pull her boots off and loosen parts of her tightly-tied outfit, untucking the front of the top from her belt, before stretching out across the entire seat.  


“Well, you wasted no time,” the redhead commented.  


“It seemed like we might be here for a while.”  


“Well… I will be.”  


“Then I will be, too.”  


“It’s going to be kind of boring.”  


“Don’t care. Talk me through what you’re doing.”  


Aloy paused for a moment before laughing softly, adjusting her position on the floor so her back was pressed against the front of the couch. She tried her best to explain the process of testing the receiver, trying to see if it would accurately pick up the Spire’s signal, with the hope of being able to transmit, as well, one day. Despite her rambling, Talanah remained quiet during her explanation, only asking a sporadic question here and there for clarification.  


Finally, after what seemed like hours, Aloy sat back with a frustrated huff, tilting her head back and sinking slightly lower against the couch.  


“Giving up?”  


“Hitting another wall.”  


Something pat the top of her head and she rolled her head to one side, giving Talanah and admonishing look.  


“You need a break.”  


“I need results.”  


“They’ll come. For now: break.”  


Aloy sighed, but began to get to her feet as Talanah stretched across the couch, arching her back and groaning softly. The redhead found her eyes wandering to the Carja’s midriff that became exposed as the untucked portion of her top fell aside from her motions. As Talanah fell back on the couch, Aloy quickly glanced away, clearing her throat.  


“Getting old is so painful,” Talanah sighed, turning sideways in her seat and placing her feet on the floor.  


“Tell me about it.”  


Aloy subconsciously rolled her shoulders against the stiff line across the center of her back, and as she glanced toward Talanah, she caught the tight-lipped expression on her lips.  


“Do you think the Old Ones knew how to remove scars?”  


Aloy shrugged.  


“Probably, but… I don’t really want to.”  


The Carja smirked, rising to her feet with another soft groan.  


“Forever a huntress, through and through.”  


Once Talanah had put herself back together a bit more, they ventured back out into the city, eventually making their way to the same street vendor Erend had shown Aloy during her brief stint in Meridian following her near-death experience with a Strider. Raif was as excited as ever to see Aloy at his stall, and offered his customary flirting attempt with Talanah, as well. With a grin and a shake of her head, she paid for her food and the women wandered a short ways away with their food.  


Since bringing APOLLO back online, they had quickly learned that his “secret recipe” he had found in some old ruin was actually a type of food the Old Ones called a “gyro,” and he had only since refined his recipe once Aloy had told him this.  


Once they finished off their plates and returned them to the small cart beside Raif’s main stall, they meandered through the markets, glancing at the various trinkets on sale from the delvers who continued to pillage ruins for whatever they could say still had value. As they rounded a corner, though, they found themselves in the section of stalls primarily focused on weapons, armor, and other hunting and fighting gear.  


Aloy’s curiosity was piqued by a stall immediately to her left, quickly slipping toward it as Talanah tried to keep up. The redhead picked up the weapon at the front of the stall, turning it over in her hands. It seemed to be a contraption just over a foot long, with the main structure built from wood. Atop the main length of the frame, a metal canister was attached with metal bands that seemed to have been riveted in place, eventually leading to a narrower tip. The whole thing seemed rather simple, but something about it brought a strange feeling to the back of her mind.  


“First of her kind, right there.”  


Aloy jumped at the sound of the voice, glancing up to find the stall’s merchant watching her with a grin.  


“What?”  


“What you’re holding, there,” he said, gesturing to it, “first of her kind.”  


“What is it?”  


“It’s a modification of a rattler,” he explained, straightening up as a spark appeared in his eyes. “Designed ‘er myself.”  


“You… designed this?”  


“Well… with my son.”  


He glanced behind him, waving for someone to come forward. A moment later, a teenage boy appeared from behind a stack of wooden crates, wiping his hands on his leather apron.  


“C’mere, boy,” the merchant said. “Someone’s admiring your handiwork.”  


His eyes lit up as he approached the stall, glancing first at the weapon before up at Aloy. As he did, his eyes widened dramatically.  


“Y-you… you’re interested in… something I made?” he stammered.  


She nodded and he let out a slow, shuddering sigh.  


“I-I tried my best,” he began. “I… well, during class I saw the images from the Old Ones… when they were hunting… and thought I… I could give it a try making something like one of their weapons, myself.”  


Aloy nodded slowly, turning the weapon over, again, noting how a rudimentary trigger had been affixed to the portion of the wooden frame that extended downward from the metal canister on the top. It didn’t look entirely like one could simply squeeze it, though, and confusion creased her face.  


“It uses a compressor that I took from a Scrapper,” the boy explained. “You need to prime it before firing.”  


The redhead nodded slowly before turning back to the boy.  


“Could you show me how it works?”  


His eyes remained wide, but he nodded, taking the weapon gingerly from her. He led her over to a small target they had set up beside the stall, standing several feet away before clearing his throat and turning to her.  


“You turn this switch,” he began, flipping a small, rotating switch on the side of the canister, “then you prime the trigger.”  


He pushed the curved piece of metal forward with one finger before turning to the target, holding the weapon in both hands and taking aim.  


“Then you just—”  


With a squeeze of the trigger, a loud pop suddenly split the air, and almost instantly, a small hole appeared in the target.  


“And that’s it.”  


He turned back to the redhead, hesitating for a moment before offering the weapon to her.  


“Did you want to try?”  


Aloy nodded and took it from him, following the steps he had just shown her before taking her stance. She found herself quickly adopting one similar to using her bow, the weapon instinctually raising before her as she tilted her head to look along the length of metal cylinder. She watched the tip of the weapon waiver across the image of the target for several moments before taking a deep breath in through her nose, stilling her entire body, before she pulled the trigger.  


The weapon kicked back slightly in her hands, but it was certainly nowhere near as strong as the Deathbringer guns, or even a full Rattler. As they returned to the stall, Aloy glanced at the target, noting that her shot had landed just off the bullseye.  


“You’re a natural, already,” the merchant laughed, taking the weapon from her. “So whad’ya think?”  


“It’s impressive,” she said, nodding. “For your first time at it, it works well already.”  


The boy’s face quickly lit up as his father, the merchant, grinned and pat him on the shoulder.  


“Once those classes started,” he began, glancing between Aloy and Talanah, “he took to them like a hammer to steel. We might have one of the best Tinkerers in Meridian on our hands, yet.”  


The boy quickly blushed, looking down at the table between them and fidgeting with a pack of arrows nearest to him.  


“Glad to hear it,” Talanah chimed in. “This is exactly why we wanted to start them, so… good to know.”  


They wished the merchant and his son well before finally turning and continuing along the street, Talanah grinning broadly as she elbowed Aloy playfully.  


“Look at that? See? It’s working!”  


“Yeah…”  


Talanah’s smile faltered slightly as she looked over at Aloy.  


“What’s wrong?”  


Aloy sighed, rubbing her eyes tiredly.  


“A teenage boy already figured how to turn a Rattler into a small, handheld weapon,” she began. “You know what weapons he was referring to in the classes, right?”  


Talanah paused, her smile now only a ghost of its former strength.  


“Weapons of war…”  


Aloy nodded.  


“But… I mean… with the machines the way they are…”  


“They’re not going to stay that way,” Aloy said firmly, glancing over at her.  


Talanah recoiled defensively and Aloy took in a sharp breath, squeezing her eyes closed for a moment.  


“Sorry.”  


“It’s okay,” the Carja said quickly, moving closer to Aloy, again. “I trust you.”  


Aloy shook her head slowly, sighing.  


“There’s that word again…”  


Suddenly, Talanah stepped in front of Aloy, grabbing her by one shoulder and leading her out of the middle of the street and to a small, empty spot on the side before turning to her and placing both hands on her shoulders.  


“It means something, Aloy,” she said firmly. “Trust is a lot to put in a person. You know this. If I didn’t trust you, I would have never followed you out of Meridian and into the insane world of ancient machines and AIs we’ve been in for the past five years. I…”  


She paused, taking a deep breath in before continuing in a softer tone of voice.  


“I trust you and… believe you, and… all of those things. I want more than anything for you to believe me, too. Do you?”  


There was nowhere for Aloy to look other than Talanah’s eyes, and as she stared back at the pleading, expectant expression in them, she found the tension in her fists at her sides fading away. With a deep breath in through her nose, she nodded.  


“I want to hear you say it.”  


“I do.”  


“You do what?”  


“Believe you.”  


Talanah smiled, patting her shoulder before finally releasing the redhead and gesturing for them to continue on down the street.  


“Despite all that, you’re still impossible, though.”  


Aloy laughed as she shoved Talanah playfully, the Carja woman nearly tripping into a merchant’s stall. After apologizing quickly, she scurried forward after Aloy, giving her a hard look.  


“Don’t make me regret all of that.”  


The rest of the day seemed to pass relatively quickly, with Talanah taking a leave from Aloy’s apartment in the late afternoon to “take care of a few things” before the celebration that night. Almost as soon as she had left, a yawn forced its way out of the redhead and she glanced down at the perpetual project in the center of her apartment before sighing and falling onto her couch, instead.  


She stretched across it before closing her eyes for a moment, sighing deeply. What felt like almost an instant later, however, a loud knocking interrupted her rest. A heavy sigh escaped her as she opened her eyes. When she did, however, she realized that the apartment was much darker than it had been a moment ago, although soft lighting seemed to come from the small tables beside the couch and from the kitchen.  


Confusion creased her face as she slowly rose to her feet, glancing back at the softly glowing lamp beside her that she didn’t remember lighting. Just then, the front door to her apartment cracked open and she whirled toward it, knees bent and hands clenched into fists almost instantly.  


A moment later, a familiar face leaned through the opening and she sighed, relaxing her posture.  


“Didn’t mean to scare you, kiddo.”  


Aloy shook her head, wiping at her eyes tiredly as Elisabet stepped into the room, closing the door behind her.  


“I didn’t realize I fell asleep so fast,” Aloy mumbled.  


“You must be incredibly tired,” the older redhead said, laughing. “You’ve had a kind of busy day.”  


“How did you keep up with all of the diplomacy… stuff?” Aloy asked, taking a seat on her couch, once again.  


“Barely,” Elisabet replied, taking a seat on the opposite end. “I always hated it.”  


“I do, now.”  


“I know.”  


Aloy let out a frustrated sigh, propping her head against her fist, her elbow planted firmly on the back of the couch.  


“I also know everything you’re dealing with it, too,” Elisabet continued.  


“People doubting you?”  


The older redhead nodded.  


“All the time… especially in my early days in college and just out of it, but… even until the end.”  


Aloy’s lips drew into a thin line as Elisabet sighed, clapping her hands down on her legs.  


“That’s enough of that shit, though,” she said. “You need to get in a better mood!”  


Confusion creased the younger redhead’s face.  


“Why?”  


“You’ve got a party to go to!”  


Aloy rolled her eyes as Elisabet laughed.  


“Come on, you’ve got to let loose every now and then.”  


“It’s a celebration from the council and the city for the education program… not exactly a real ‘party’ as you said.”  


“Is there an open bar?”  


“What?”  


“Never mind,” Elisabet laughed, shaking her head. “Hey, listen. Talanah may be the official Minister of Education, but you two built the entire program together. This party is as much for you as it is for her… and she clearly wants you to feel that way, too.”  


Aloy let out an exasperated sigh, hanging her head.  


“I know, but…”  


“But what?”  


“I just…”  


“Do _not_ say that you don’t have the time.”  


Aloy recoiled at the forcefulness to her tone, prompting Elisabet to wince.  


“Sorry, but… you’re young, Aloy. Now is not the time to make up bullshit excuses like that.”  


“But…”  


Elisabet shot her a hard look as the sound of Talanah’s voice rang in her ears.  


“No buts.”  


Aloy sighed, throwing her hands into the air.  


“Fine. I’ll go.”  


“And?”  


“Well, probably drink.”  


Elisabet rolled her eyes, leaning against the couch to bat at Aloy’s knee with a smirk.  


“I meant have fun. Your friends will be there. Lighten up.”  


“That’s a lot coming from you.”  


“Hey, I’ll have you know that once upon a time… I really knew how to cut loose.”  


Aloy made a face at her as Elisabet laughed.  


“Don’t think too much about it.”  


“I won’t.”  


Just then, another loud knocking came from the door and Aloy jumped in surprise. As she blinked and glanced around, she quickly realized that she had suddenly changed positions, yet again, once again lying across her couch. With a groan, she rubbed at the tiredness in her eyes before dragging herself to her feet.  


She plodded to the door before pulling it open, not bothering to ask who it could be. As she did, she suddenly froze, eyes widening. Talanah smirked at her, placing her hands on her hips.  


“Fell asleep?”  


Aloy’s eyes quickly travelled over the Carja huntress’s change in outfit before she remembered that she had asked her a question.  


“Uh… must have.”  


Talanah sighed, shaking her head before looking back up at her.  


“Well, now I’m here, and I can help you get ready.”  


“Get… ready?”  


“You did not actually forget already, did you?”  


Aloy blinked slowly before shaking her head.  


“Of course not.”  


“Then come on, because we’re supposed to be there soon.”  


Talanah made a gesture as if to ask if she could enter and Aloy stepped aside, holding the door open. The Carja slipped past her, but paused as she entered the dark room.  


“It is a lot darker in here than I expected.”  


Aloy quickly tapped her Focus, bringing the interface to life around her. With a few taps, a set of electric lights fixed to the walls around the room suddenly came to life, bathing the apartment in a soft, white glow. Talanah let out a small gasp before turning back to her.  


“You finished them?”  


Aloy smirked, closing her Focus.  


“Got them to finally respond to my Focus, yeah.”  


Talanah grinned, nodding.  


“Well, they’re certainly useful.”  


Aloy nodded, but found that her eyes had begun to travel over the Carja woman, yet again. Talanah had ditched the teal-and-white silk tunic and leggings from earlier for what appeared to be a flowing, golden dress that seemed to always be in perpetual motion around her feet as she moved. The dress seemed to have no sleeves, but she had also donned something that appeared to be a silk shawl with sleeves that came to just below her elbows, while also falling to nearly the small of her back. The teal silk, almost identical to that of her earlier outfit, also featured some kind of pattern inlaid with gold print that seemed to shimmer slightly in the light, as she turned. Finally, she had opted not for the usual, tight ponytail that she always wore, but instead had drawn her hair into a loosely-wrapped bun shape, held in place by a white fabric tie, with a lock of hair loose from the tie and hanging along the side of her face.  


“Uh… any time now, Aloy.”  


The redhead blinked rapidly, feeling the heat rising in her face.  


“Uh… sorry, what?”  


“I asked what you were going to wear,” Talanah said, smirking, “and don’t you dare say what you’re wearing right now.”  


“I… no, I wasn’t… I, uh…”  


Talanah rolled her eyes as she braced her hands on her hips.  


“You were.”  


“No!”  


She gave her an admonishing look and the redhead clenched her jaw, quickly slipping past the Carja and hurrying up the stairs to her bedroom. The sound of footsteps ascending the stairs followed after her, but she didn’t turn back as she made her way quickly to the wardrobe across the room and threw its doors open, quickly scanning over its contents. Finally, with a muttered curse, she turned around to find Talanah approaching, craning her neck to look over her shoulder.  


“I know formal isn’t your thing, but…”  


Aloy’s lips drew into a thin line as Talanah suddenly snapped her fingers, her eyes lighting up.  


“Where’s that present I gave you months ago?”  


“The what?”  


The Carja sighed, shooing Aloy out of the way before rifling through the clothing in the redhead’s wardrobe. After several moments of searching, she let out a victorious exclamation and pulled something free of the rest, spinning around.  


“You didn’t get rid of it!”  


Aloy glanced over the clothing in her hands for a moment, her thin-lipped expression not lessening, but a clammy feeling on her palms quickly accompanying it.  


“Well, it was a present, so…”  


“And now you have a reason to wear it.”  


Talanah held it out toward her, raising one eyebrow.  


“Are you going to say no?”  


Aloy chewed the inside of her cheek for a moment before letting out a frustrated huff and swiping the clothing from her.  


“Fine.”  


Talanah offered her a self-satisfied smirk before pointing to the stairs to the first floor.  


“Wash up and put that on.”  


“Oh? Giving commands now?”  


“It’s my party. I want my—guest of honor—to look good.”  


Aloy gave her a strange look, but Talanah simply sighed and forcefully spun her around, shoving her forward toward the stairs.  


“Humor me, please.”  


With an incoherent grumbling, she made her way downstairs, drawing a bath in her wash room and quickly scrubbing at the days of dirt, dust, sweat, and grime that seemed to have settled onto her, particularly her hair. Once she was done, she quickly drained the bath and dried herself with the bright green towel hanging haphazardly off the edge of a small shelf on the wall. Satisfied, she turned to the clothing she had draped over the edge of the counter around the wash basin and sighed.  


She slipped the dress over her head, adjusting it until everything felt as if it were sitting more or less how it should, even if the feeling of discomfort remained. Finally, she smoothed the front of it for the hundredth time and stepped in front of the mirror on the counter. The frown on her lips was firmly set in, but she figured she at least looked presentable, turning to make sure she hadn’t missed something on her back.  


Similar to Talanah’s, her dress seemed to pool about her feet, remaining in motion for several seconds after she had come to a stop, herself. The exposed feeling on her upper back and shoulders caused her to squirm uncomfortably, desperately wishing she had something like Talanah’s shawl-like top. Just as she was about to turn to leave, she self-consciously ran her fingers over the thin, brown line of fabric that trimmed the top of the dress and ran along the seams, as well.  


“Good as I’m gonna get it…”  


With a sigh, she grabbed her discarded clothes from earlier and stepped out of the wash room. Almost immediately, she nearly ran into Talanah and jumped, dropping her clothes in surprise. The Carja recoiled in surprise, as well, but quickly recovered as she laughed.  


“Oh calm down, it’s only me.”  


Aloy glared at her, but bent down to pick up her clothes, once again.  


“Oh, here, let me help you get the back.”  


“The what?”  


Aloy straightened up as Talanah moved behind her and she felt her tugging on something on her clothing.  


“You need to tie the back. Hold on…”  


After several moments of pulling and tugging on her dress, Talanah let out a satisfied sound and stepped in front of the redhead, once again.  


“All good.”  


Aloy squirmed slightly, feeling where the fabric of the dress now rubbed against the stiff line across her back.  


“Come on, it’s not that bad…”  


Aloy sighed, trying to simply accept the fact that it wasn’t going to feel entirely comfortable, when she noticed how Talanah appeared to be looking her up and down.  


“What?”  


Talanah started, almost as if in surprise, and cleared her throat.  


“Nothing, just… you know… blue, uh… it’s really your color.”  


Aloy raised her eyebrows slightly as a smirk twisted her lips.  


“Is it now?”  


Talanah nodded, beginning to turn back toward the door to the apartment.  


“So, uh… just… uh… let me know when you’re ready to head out.”  


The redhead caught a hint of redness forming on the Carja’s cheeks, which only caused her smirk to grow, but she decided not to press it further. Once she had returned to the bedroom upstairs, she dumped the clothes on her bed and was about to turn to leave, when she caught something in the wardrobe that had been left open.  


She quickly made her way over to it, grabbing the fur-and-leather article of clothing from where it hung on a hook beside some of the more brightly colored Carja silk outfits. With a small smile, she stared down at the cloak in her hands, running her thumb over the embroidered image that was used as the anchor point for the clasp that held it in place.  


“Guess it’s fitting for today…”  


With a sigh, she unfolded the Nora cloak and wrapped it around her shoulders, wrapping the thin piece of leather that was used to tie it closed around the base of the small insignia, hooking the small piece of metal at the end of it over itself and checking to make sure it wasn’t about to immediately fall off.  


With a deep breath, she turned back to the stairs, making her way toward them, grabbing a pair of sandals from the floor by them at the last moment before hurrying down to the first floor. As soon as she stepped off the bottom, she noticed Talanah glance toward her before pulling a double take.  


“That the one Teb gave you?”  


Aloy nodded, hopping in place as she attempted to slip one of the sandals on.  


“The second one.”  


Talanah’s lips drew into a thin line as she nodded. A few moments later, Aloy had managed to secure her sandals in place, sighing as she straightened up, adjusting her clothing self-consciously, once again, before approaching the Carja woman.  


“Ready?”  


Talanah looked her up and down, once again, before smiling and nodding.  


“When you are.”

  


  


The celebration was similar to every other formal Carja ceremony she’d been to, with lots of nobles milling about, sipping on small goblets of alcohol and eating small pieces of food between vapid conversations and boasting about… whatever it was they had to boast about. Near the beginning, Avad had offered a small speech about the reason they were all there being the accomplishments of the education program, but the polite applause did little to hide that many people were simply there because it was a chance to posture and show off to others.  


Aloy spent most of the night sticking away from the crowds of people, slowly sipping a small goblet of wine that caused her to make a face at the strong taste each time, but she had not seen an alternative option. Talanah had been pulled into numerous conversations with the elites around them, being the Minister of Education, herself, leaving Aloy to her own devices, for the most part.  


As she stared down at the table of food offerings, with most simply coming down to various different types of cheese, fruit, and bread, she became aware of someone standing directly beside her. When she glanced over, she pulled a double take, her eyes lighting up.  


“Food selection’s pretty bad, yeah?”  


Erend grinned at her as she laughed, quickly placing her drink on the table before the Oseram wrapped her in a tight hug, and she returned it. A few moments later, when they broke away, she looked him over, noticing that he was dressed more in his typical Vanguard garb, rather than something like the others at the celebration.  


“Did you just get back?” she asked.  


“Yeah, and one of my men told me about the celebration,” he said. “So thanks for the invitation.”  


Aloy scoffed, shoving him playfully.  


“You said you had to go out on a patrol and didn’t know when you’d be back.”  


“You still didn’t invite me.”  


“You said you wouldn’t be able to make it.”  


He laughed, shoving her shoulder, as well, while Aloy rolled her eyes and took another sip of her drink.  


“So where’s the honoree?”  


Suddenly, the sound of something hitting Erend from behind caused him to jump, but a moment later Talanah appeared beside him.  


“I’m surprised they let someone looking like you in here,” she teased, smirking.  


“As the Captain of the Vanguard, I get a pass wherever I want.”  


Talanah sighed, rolling her eyes.  


“Also, you can’t tell me there’s an opportunity for food and drink and not expect me to find a way in.”  


“Oh, I had a feeling,” Talanah shot back.  


The three of them continued to talk animatedly as Aloy noted how Erend casually downed two of the small glasses of wine in the time it took her to finish her one. As he went to grab his third, Talanah leaned in toward Aloy.  


“I’m glad Erend showed up.”  


The redhead raised her eyebrows at her.  


“Why?”  


“Because you looked lonely, over here.”  


Aloy’s lips drew into a thin line as she shrugged.  


“Just not my thing, being here.”  


“I know…” Talanah replied, frowning slightly. “I’m sorry.”  


“For what?”  


“For abandoning you amidst all these people.”  


Aloy shook her head, patting her on the shoulder.  


“It’s fine.”  


Talanah didn’t look convinced, but Erend returned a moment later, and yet another elite noble in an ornate headdress and dressed head to toe in the finest silks approached the Carja, drawing her away from them, once again. She offered an apologetic smile to Aloy who laughed and shook her head, gesturing for her to follow the older woman who had already begun to walk away.  


Once they had left, Erend handed Aloy another drink, and they made their way to the edge of the party, leaning against a railing that overlooked the farmlands below. Aloy could just make out some glowing lights amidst the rows of crops below, and stared at them in confusion for a moment or two before a previous council meeting came back to her and she let out a sound in realization.  


“What?”  


“See those lights down there?”  


“Yeah.”  


“Some of the farmers started learning how to repurpose machines and machine parts to do things like help with irrigation and… other stuff,” Aloy said, waving her hand absentmindedly in their direction.  


Erend nodded, grinning.  


“Yeah, I’ve seen it up close,” he said. “It’s impressive what they’re doing already.”  


Aloy nodded, taking a sip of her drink, noting how a warm feeling appeared to be rising in her face, already.  


“I swear I can hear Petra swearing at one for breaking down from all the way up here.”  


They both laughed as Aloy glanced over at Erend.  


“She not coming?”  


He shrugged.  


“You know her. Food and drink are nice, but all of— _them_ —really turn her away.”  


Aloy nodded slowly, turning back out to the scene of the farmlands under the rapidly darkening sky below. Erend let out a heavy sigh, shifting his position on the railing beside her.  


“World’s already starting to come a long way in five years.”  


Aloy shrugged, finishing her drink in two more large gulps before glancing over at Erend to find him regarding her with a surprised expression.  


“Could be better.”  


“Which, the wine or—?”  


“The world,” she said, laughing.  


“Hey, nothing like that changes overnight,” he shot back. “You fixed up APOLLO within, what, a year or so of getting back here?”  


“Yeah…”  


“And then Talanah tore through it all and you two decided to bring it to Avad… and now we’re here celebrating your success.”  


“Her success,” Aloy muttered, shrugging.  


“Are you jealous?”  


“No!” the redhead said quickly, whirling around so she was leaning her back against the railing. “I… I’m not. I just wish that more of— _these people_ —would see the benefit in the other things we’ve been doing, too. I’m just… not the charmer, like she is, and so it’s been… hard.”  


Erend turned around like she had, finishing his drink before placing it on the railing and folding his arms over his chest.  


“It’s a completely different skill than fixing machines and rebuilding all of these AIs, as you say,” he said quietly. “That’s why you have a team.”  


Aloy laughed softly, shaking her head.  


“You know how I am when it comes to teams.”  


“I do. You’ve had one for the past five years.”  


Aloy glanced over at him as Erend sighed.  


“I think the wine went to your head much quicker than normal,” he said. “You seem to forget everything that you, Talanah, Petra, and I have been doing. We followed you into that mountain, and we’ve followed you ever since. Yeah, you’re not the politician who can awe a room of nobles and old Carja elites who don’t understand anything beyond the world they’ve lived in so far… but that’s not your role.”  


Aloy bit her lower lip as her gaze slowly passed over the crowds of people before them, a tight, fiery feeling appearing in her chest as Erend’s words sank in.  


“That’s okay, though,” he continued softly. “Doesn’t make what you’ve done, and what you’re doing, any less important.”  


The redhead, sighed, closing her eyes for a moment before she pushed away from the railing.  


“I need another drink. You, too?”  


Erend paused for a moment until Aloy stopped, turning around to look back at him.  


“Yeah, I suppose I could.”  


She nodded, noting how his jaw seemed to work tensely, before she turned and made her way back to the tables of food and drinks. Once she had reached it, she grabbed a goblet, quickly downing its contents, her face screwing up at the strong flavor, before grabbing two more and beginning to make her way back to where she had left Erend. Before she could reach it, though, something suddenly pressed against the center of her back and she felt a presence beside her, causing her to jump, nearly spilling the wine everywhere.  


When she whirled toward the presence, she found Talanah grinning back at her.  


“Don’t look so surprised,” she laughed.  


“Well… I am… was.”  


Talanah’s eyebrow raised as she took a sip from her drink.  


“You had a few more of those drinks since I last saw you?”  


Aloy’s face began to heat up as she tried her best to draw her focus away from the pressure of Talanah’s hand on her back that had not gone away.  


“Maybe…”  


The Carja laughed, clinking her goblet against the one in Aloy’s right hand.  


“Getting into the spirit, I see.”  


“If you say so…”  


Talanah sighed, rolling her eyes dramatically.  


“I say so. Lighten up, Aloy.”  


The redhead laughed, beginning to lead the way back to her original destination.  


“The night is too beautiful for a beautiful girl to look so down.”  


Aloy suddenly looked over at the Carja, eyebrows raised.  


“Is it now?”  


Talanah quickly took a drink from her goblet as Aloy’s lips pulled back in a smirk. Finally, when Talanah finished her drink, she placed it on a flat portion of one of the stone pillars that marked the edge of the covered area of the celebration and where the more open balcony began. A moment later, she plucked the drink from Aloy’s right hand to a half-hearted protest from the redhead.  


“I need it more, right now,” the Carja mumbled.  


“I mean… it’s not the first time you’ve said something like that.”  


“And you give me the same look each time.”  


“And you’ve never asked me what it means.”  


Talanah paused mid-sip as she turned toward Aloy, but the redhead only offered a coy grin before they came to a stop at the railing beside Erend.  


“I see you picked up a straggler,” he teased, glancing down at Talanah.  


“She took your drink, too,” Aloy replied. “Sorry.”  


Erend shrugged dismissively, grinning as Talanah suddenly up-ended her drink, finishing it in one gulp.  


“If it’s any consolation,” she said, twirling the now empty glass in her hand for a moment, “it tasted good and I needed it more.”  


“I mean… I probably wouldn’t argue that.”  


He glanced toward the crowds of nobles behind them, but Aloy also caught how he glanced toward the Carja’s hand still firmly on her back, offering the redhead a smirk before letting out a heavy sigh.  


“Well, I would offer a toast to your success,” he continued, “but two of us don’t have drinks, anymore.”  


“It’s the thought that counts,” Aloy shrugged, holding her still full glass forward. “To Talanah being much more persuasive than I am, and to Erend for actually volunteering to journey up into the mountains every other week to visit an old ruin.”  


They all laughed as Aloy took a sip of her drink, only for Talanah to grab her hand and hold it out before her, once again.  


“And to Aloy, for helping put the world back together… piece by piece.”  


She glanced over at the Carja to see her offering a genuine smile before releasing Aloy’s hand on the drink. With a glance toward Erend, she found him nodding in agreement, grabbing the empty goblet from beside him and clinking it against hers.  


“I tried to tell you…”  


Aloy sighed, rolling her eyes as she took another drink from the goblet. Just as she did, she noticed a figure slipping out of the crowd and making his way toward them. Confusion creased her brow as the Carja guard came to a stop a few feet away.  


“Aloy Sobeck, ma’am, a… visitor has arrived at the city gates, asking for you.”  


The redhead’s confusion only deepened as he straightened her posture, Talanah’s hand falling away from her back, as well.  


“Who is it? Why are they asking for me?”  


Suddenly, the sound of her Focus coming to life rang in her ear, although the full interface did not open around her. Immediately, a voice began to speak that prompted her eyes to widen, her heart beginning to pound in her chest, even as the warm nature of the tone immediately conjured images of soft smiles and she almost swore she could feel a hand softly pressed against her cheek.  


“An old friend, Aloy.”

  


  


The ancient structure sat as dark and still as ever, the sounds of dripping water and occasionally of small creatures skittering across the metal surfaces the only sounds that broke the strange, frozen void. Several rats hurried along the wall of a long-empty walkway, rounding the sharp corner of a doorway, but coming to a stop just inside the space beyond. While the rest of the facility was dark, this particular room appeared to swallow all hints of light.  


Still, a low humming seemed to fill the space, drawing several of the rats forward.  


Eventually, the leader of the group bumped into something large and let out a squeak, bringing the others to a stop, as well. It began to investigate the shape, moving around it until it seemed satisfied that it wasn’t about to move, much like many of the large, metal constructions in the structure.  


The leader suddenly found a relatively easy path to climb higher on the construction, however, drawn on by the soft humming that came from above. When it reached a flat surface that seemed to be angled down to the left, it began to move along it, drawing closer to the source of the sound. Suddenly, the surface beneath the rodent’s feet lit up with a burst of light, prompting the creature to let out a panicked squeak and scurry away, finding an equally quick path back to the ground and rejoining its group as they made their way back toward the door out of the strange room.  


The glowing screen of the construction the rat had been investigating continued to change and move as a stream of numbers and letters filled it, creating an incomprehensible mass of characters. Finally, however, it all cleared away, revealing a simple phrase in the center of the box.  


“Lightkeeper Protocol Activated. Initiating programming.”  


A rapidly filling line appeared below the text, the white bar quickly moving from the left side of the words to the right. Almost immediately, a new line of text appeared below the white bar, flashing slowly on the glowing screen.  


“Code: Alpha Prime.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> But not that warm and fuzzy.
> 
> I said I'm not done around here, yet.
> 
> _Living Systems_ is done, but the story of this little splinter-universe I ended up in is not.
> 
> I don't want to discount the ending to this series, as I wanted it to have a true ending and wrap itself up in a way that if you stopped reading right here, you'd have a complete story arc, maybe with some hope for the future.
> 
> But, if you liked my writing so far, and want to delve deeper into this version, there'll be more for you.
> 
> And because I'm insane: see you next week.
> 
> _The Devil Lies in the West_ , but the first step to reaching it is to pass through _The Dust_.
> 
> Same time. Same place. Same insane upload schedule.
> 
> See you in the new year.
> 
> Much love,  
> NorthernGhost


	26. Author's Note/Shameless Self-Promotion

Hey there!

It's Monday, but there's not another chapter here.

That's because there's one over here, in [The Dust](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22143973/chapters/52857691)!

Like I said in the notes from last week, _Singularity_ wrapped up the plot arc I had in mind for all of _Living Systems_ , but near the end of writing this one, I had the idea that I really wanted to do more, so I planned out an entire new trilogy and I'm going to be posting those with the same schedule as this. 

So, if you liked my writing here, go check out that link up there to follow the new series, _The Devil Lies in the West_ , every Monday, starting this week!

If you really liked this arc and don't want to see where my take on this world goes from here, but leave it all wrapped up as is, that's fine, too.

If you somehow skipped three entire fics' worth of content and ended up at this exact chapter first... uh, welcome and I am equally impressed and confused. There's a lot more interesting content about character relationships, identity, keeping a grip on reality, and generally lots of emotional moments and character growth in all of those previous chapters, and there will be some more of that but also quite a bit of action, horror, and generally dark weirdness in the sequels, so I'd recommend going in either of those two directions from here!

Anyhow, I mainly wanted to post this little chapter just as a way for anyone who follows/has followed/has read all the way through this story so you can more easily find the next one!

Once again, if you liked everything that happened before this chapter, then hopefully I'll see you in the coming weeks over at the new ones.

It's a new year, new fic, new wild takes on this universe, but same reliable upload schedule.

Peace,

NorthernGhost


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